Justin Tomlinson MP with the winning team from Swindon College
Justin Tomlinson MP joined his South Swindon colleague Robert Buckland MP in judging the ideas young people have about how Swindon can be improved as part of an X-Factor style panel event. Organised by Swindon Borough Council as part of Local Democracy Week, the event at Nova Hreod School was a fantastic opportunity for local students to put forward their ideas about how Swindon can be improved to their elected representatives. The event was designed to give students a chance to engage with local politicians and the political process, taking away the importance of democracy for local areas.
The panel saw presentation made by students from St. Joseph’s Catholic School, The Ridgeway School, Swindon Academy, Lydiard Park Academy, The Commonweal School, Nova Hreod and Warneford. Ideas ranged from the vital base services like litter, bus services and development to the innovative: outdoor gyms, street lighting solutions and offering young people tickets to music gigs in exchange for volunteering. The panel then answered questions from the audience before judging the presentations and announcing the winner.
Justin Tomlinson MP said “It is really important to give young people opportunities to put over their ideas to politicians and involve them in the political process. The sheer number of fantastic ideas we saw today was really impressive – Swindon’s got its next generation of leaders keen and ready to get involved and that is brilliant."
Based on today's presentations Justin awarded each school a role in the community:
St Jo's - Communications
Ridgeway School - Youth Service
Swindon Academy - Police
Lydiard Park Academy - Parks
Commonweal School - Thamesdown Transport
Nova Hreod - Leisure Services
Warneford - Elected Politicians
Swindon Academy crept into the lead to take the prize – a trip to Westminster for a tour of Parliament and the chance to see Justin and Robert hard at work in London.
Justin Tomlinson MP with Robert Buckland MP answer questions from the audience