On Tuesday 17 January a group of Lower Sixth students from Habs Boys and Habs Girls visited the Houses of Parliament. They received a guided tour of this world-famous building from staff of the Parliamentary Education Unit. This included an opportunity to visit the House of Commons, a Commons voting lobby, the House of Lords and the Royal Gallery. After this the students took part in a workshop on laws and debating.
We were given two talks from individuals who serve currently in Parliament. A Labour peer, Baron Turnberg, spoke to the group about his work for over twenty years in the House of Lords and answered their questions on policy areas including constitutional reform and social care. A Conservative Member of Parliament, Matt Warman (OH 1999), spoke to our students in Westminster Hall about recent developments in UK politics, including his own experiences as a Minister in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in the May and Johnson governments.
In Westminster Hall, the group saw Ray Kenton (OH 2019) who is currently working as an aide to Toby Perkins MP, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the plaque that has recently been unveiled to mark the spot of the lying-in-state in 2022 of Queen Elizabeth II. In the afternoon, we watched from the House of Commons public gallery Rt. Hon Alister Jack MP answer an urgent parliamentary question on the UK Government’s decision to use Section 35 of the Scotland Act (1997) to overturn legislation of the Scottish Parliament.
We would like to thank all those who helped our students witness the work of the UK Parliament up-close. Lower Sixth students at the Habs Elstree are having joint lessons as part of Habs Nexus.
