One key responsibility of all Members of Parliament is to encourage and invite local school pupils to visit the Palace of Westminster, and to explain the role of MPs and the democratic process.
This is a responsibility I take extremely seriously and I am always pleased to welcome students and teachers to London. I also enjoy visiting local schools and talking about my work as Crawley’s MP – it is interesting to note that some of the toughest questions I face are from pupils!
Last year I was pleased to see the opening of the new Parliamentary Education Centre in Westminster. This was launched by Professor Brian Cox, and I am pleased to have already shown a number of local students groups around.
It is estimated that the Education Centre will enable about one million school children from across the United Kingdom to see Parliament over the next ten years – I look forward to continuing to show Crawley pupils and teachers the seat of our democracy.
Part of the Education Centre’s work is to try and bring Parliament to local schools. There are a range of learning resources for a variety of ages on the Centre’s website: www.parliament.uk/education
An annual programme is Parliament Week, which includes various events and activities to help provide a greater understanding of Parliament and our democracy.
This takes place each November, and last year it focused on the 750th anniversary of the De Montfort parliament, and the commemoration of the 800th year since the sealing of Magna Carta, which started the emergence of the House of Commons and our democracy as we know it today.
Next month marks the 245th anniversary of the House of Commons clamping down on newspapers reporting its debates – John Wilkes, who had previously been sent to prison for criticising the king and the government, continued to campaign for the freedom of the press.
Nowadays – as a snapshot of how things have changed for the better over the centuries – Parliament ensures the text of debates are printed in full on paper, and published on the internet, the following morning. Of course, through news channels and social media, parliamentary proceedings are reported in real-time!
If you are a local teacher interested in bringing a group of students to the Palace of Westminster, please do not hesitate to let me know: henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk