This summer, Justin Tomlinson’s office held over five weeks of work experience programmes, offering insights into the life of an MP and their staff.
There were a variety of age-ranges attending, overseen by former participant, Karigan Neighbour, who returned to instil the same interest and passion for politics that she had gained during the summer of 2016!
Each group engaged passionately on debate topics that they had selected, ranging from greater environmentalism to encouraging youth engagement in politics. Their weeks culminated in a presentation of a Parliamentary Bill aimed at tackling some of the largest social and political issues, with questions from Swindon Borough Councillors. The presentations were fantastically well-researched and logically addressed the selected issues.
Fin said: “I’ve learned about the political world and my perspective has changed a lot. It’s important to see the other side of the debate and have an informed opinion.”
Toby said: “We went out canvassing and asked people what could be done to help them, which was really interesting. This has guaranteed that I want a career in politics. It’s shown there’s not one definitive answer to a problem and it’s important to see other perspectives.”
Wilf said: “It’s changed my perspective on how things improve and how connected MPs are to the community and rely on other groups to help change things.”
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “They have been fantastic. These workshops focused on teamwork, presentation skills and critical thinking - showing that issues are not black and white. There's been a real mix of views, with every political party represented in these groups, and half of the people involved had no political allegiance, but they all got on because they were encouraged to respect each others' views."
Although the main programme runs over the summer, there will be programming throughout the year for students – so if you are interested, please do get in touch at: justin.tomlinson.mp@parliament.uk
