QUESTIONS on the minds of some of the region’s youngest voters were put to Labour MP Ben Bradshaw earlier this month when Exeter College Politics students enjoyed a trip to Westminster with a local twist.
Upon arrival, in addition to watching Question Time live from the public gallery, the group – currently studying for their AS and A levels in Politics – were also given a tour of the Houses of Parliament before meeting up with Exeter’s own MP and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Ben Bradshaw.
Joining Ben in Committee Room 6 of the House of Commons and for photographs on the terrace, they quizzed the top Government politician on a wide range of topical issues.
Questions asked included:

Is Gordon Brown a bully?
Have you always been a Labour supporter?
How do you manage all of your commitments now that you are Cabinet Minister and an MP?

Speaking upon their return home to Devon, Exeter College Head of Politics Phil Chappell, who had accompanied the 29 students on their trip to London, said: “Most of the students I have talked to about the trip have said that it has given them a much better opinion of Parliament.
“They were able to see for themselves the important work done by MPs and how this view isn’t always well-represented in the media. One student told me after our visit, on Monday and Tuesday, that she really missed not being able to go back into Parliament on the Wednesday. Perhaps she might be a member of the Government herself one day.”
Next week, a panel of Exeter College Politics students will be holding their own BBC’s Schools Question Time event when they represent the South-West as the regional finalists in a national competition which has been organised by the BBC to actively engage Britain’s young people in politics (see separate press release).
The live debate will take place at Exeter College’s theatre on Tuesday, March 16, from 7pm, in the Centre for Creative Industries (CCI).