As the MP for Bury St Edmunds I always welcome the involvement of constituents during UK Parliament week and am determined to ensure that our voters and citizens of tomorrow understand how vital their participation is in our democracy.
This year marked ten years of UK Parliament Week. It was a great opportunity to discuss being part of a thriving democracy and to look ahead at the next 10 years.
As part of Parliament week, I invited local schools in the Bury St Edmunds constituency to get involved and join a UK-wide conversation about our democracy, people power and making change happen.
I was delighted that Stowmarket High School, County Upper School and St Edmunds Primary joined me for a virtual event, which included a Parliament quiz and a question and answer session. Unsurprisingly many of the questions focused on the current challenges we face with Coronavirus, but other subjects included what it is like to be an MP and about how Parliamentary votes work.
I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the students and was more than happy to answer their questions and hope that they can take away some useful facts about how our democracy works and why it is so important to be part of it. I would encourage all young people to look into how you can engage in our democracy and I urge all students turning 18 this year to register to vote, it is one of our most important civic duties and should always be cherished.
