Year 12 Politics Students Reflect on Their Time Spent in The Houses of Parliament

On 16 November, our Year 12 Politics students headed to London for an eye-opening day spent in the Houses of Parliament. Here’s what they have to say about it:

"After an early start and an exciting bus journey, we arrived at parliament. Our first stop was the magnificent Supreme court. We were taken aback by the sheer subtlety of the Supreme court’s building contrasted with its grand nature on the inside. We learnt about the intricate structure of the Supreme court and its many functions in upholding the righteous ‘rule of law’ and rights of the British people." - Henry Mahan

"After this, our group had to split up to tour the Houses itself, due to the overwhelming popularity of politics this year (rightfully so). My group had the privilege of visiting Portcullis House, the designated coffee spot for MPs and where many civil servants’ offices are based, with the help of Victoria Salt (an Old Stamfordian). Victoria took us through the 'secret tunnel' linking Portcullis House and Parliament and gave us a tour of parliament before we greeted a civil servant, Martyn Atkins, who is another Old Stamfordian. Martyn works for a select committee and gave us an insight into the history of the Houses and an inside perspective of his job. We were then lucky enough to go into the House of Commons itself, after Prime Ministers Questions and see debates first-hand regarding the current issue of Iran and immigrants. We had the excitement of spotting MPs and witness the speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle doing his job, as well as witnessing the face-off between conservative and Labour MPs, front and backbenchers alike." - Penny Phelan

"We were sad not to have seen our noble Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, but instead delighted to meet Sir Jake Berry (ex-chairman of the conservative party) and Gareth Davies (MP for Stamford and Grantham). Despite our fierce grilling of our two guests, we were delighted to hear the sheer breadth and expertise the two of them had to offer". – Henry Mahan

Millie Hindmarch summarised the response of Gareth Davies, MP for Stamford and Grantham, to her question: ‘Have you noticed an increase or decrease in engagement and participation from your constituents in recent years?’ His response was that "in light of Covid 19 and the isolation in 2020, he has seen a large increase in participation from his constituents as they have reached out to the source of government decisions and interacted more with him to influence decisions in their constituency and engage in politics. This has allowed him to better represent his constituents in Parliament creating for a more democratic, representative system."

"Finally, to end what had already been a very political day, we took a beautiful stroll down Whitehall to experience the full breadth and scale of Westminster and its various departments. Downing Street, although tucked away behind the corner, was a microcosm for all the stimulating years of policy and decisions which had been decided there. Personally, my favourite aspect of the trip was meeting the two guests as I learnt not only how governments can weaken from the inside, but also how a distinguished career in another line of work can be invaluable when serving as a politician." - Henry Mahan

Photos from Mr Cheatley