Students get a chance to quiz House of Commons Speaker

NORMALLY he is the one keeping order and making sure MPs answer the questions.
But it was the Speaker of the House of Commons who was under the spotlight when he took part in a Q&A session with politics students from Warrington’s Priestley College.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle – son of former Warrington MP Lord Doug Hoyle – held a Skype interview with the A-Level learners who wanted to know all about him and his role.
“We thought he came across really well,” said Joel Irving, a former pupil at Bridgewater High School.
“One of the things we wanted to know was how does he represent his constituency when he is Speaker and has to be neutral?
“He told us he could still raise issues that mattered outside of Parliament and that, with the Tory majority at the moment, it was unlikely his one vote would make much of a difference.”
The Chorley MP was first elected in 1997 and served as Deputy Speaker from 2010 until last November when colleagues elected him as John Bercow’s successor.
During his Q&A with Priestley’s students, Sir Lindsay spoke about watching a Warrington Wolves game and of his father’s connections with the town.
Joel wanted to know who Sir Lindsay’s favourite House of Commons Speaker was and he nominated Baroness Betty Boothroyd who was in the Gallery watching when he was elected to the role.
Like Joel, former Lymm High pupil Abigail Quinn started taking an interest in politics aged 13, around the time of Donald Trump’s election and the Brexit referendum.
She said: “I’m interested in how the country works and one day might work in Government so this was an interesting opportunity for me.”