Welcome to Your Parliament!

Edward Davey MP in bid to get pupils more involved in politics

18.1.05

To encourage an interest in politics in young people, Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton, has written to every secondary school in his constituency to introduce the latest publication from the Hansard Society.

The Hansard Society’s recent booklet Your Parliament: making it work for you sets out the purpose of Parliament and explains how it exists to serve the voting public. The basic premise is that politicians, and most especially the Government, are elected by the public to make decisions that affect their everyday lives. In order for the Government to make decisions that are right for the majority of the population, they need to receive input from the people they serve.

Commenting, Edward Davey said,

"It’s important to get people actively participating in Parliament and politics - we are here to serve them. Widespread participation can help Government understand what the public want, and can help the opposition parties maintain healthy debate in order to make sure Ministers deliver.

"The Your Parliament booklet sets out all the basic facts that should break through the terminology and the peculiar traditions to make Parliament accessible to everyone. It tells you everything from the different stages a bill goes through to how you can become more involved in the political process.

"I am sending a copy of this booklet to every secondary school. I hope it will encourage pupils to become aware of the political process as they approach voting age. It is also a useful lesson in Parliamentary and political language that should prove invaluable in politics lessons.

"By getting pupils involved in politics today, we can stave off the apathy of tomorrow. People need to be reminded that Parliament is not an irrelevant talking shop but a forum for debate where issues that directly affect them will be discussed and sometimes even resolved."