HIGH School students from across Warrington South received a surprise visit from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner at Warrington Town Hall as part of UK Parliament Week.
The students, who represented schools from across Warrington South, were attending a democracy workshop hosted by Warrington South MP Sarah Hall to celebrate ‘UK Parliament Week’ where they discussed issues related to young people including education and mental health and wellbeing in an online world.
UK Parliament Week is an annual event which aims to engage young people with Parliament, and politics more broadly, with around 1.6 million people taking part in last year’s edition.
Sarah Hall was joined by Liberal Democrat Mayor Cllr. Wendy Johnson and Labour Deputy Mayor Cllr. Mo Hussain with the day consisting of debates, policy tasks, and questions for the new MP.
The students discussed their experiences of the education system and also identified a number of issues which they felt were particularly important including Mental health, Anti-Social Behaviour, and the prevalence of Vaping in under 18s.
They went on to formulate a number of policies to support young people in Warrington, ranging from greater cooperation between schools to stricter licensing on the sale of vaping products.
Sarah Hall MP Said:“UK Parliament Week is an excellent opportunity to encourage young people to participate in our political system, and really think about how they can make a difference to their local communities.
“I spent Parliament week visiting young people across the constituency, from Chapelford Primary, St Wilfrid’s Primary and St Barnabas Primary to sixth forms at Priestley and Barrow Hall. I also met a group of budding reporters at Warrington Youth Zone and some of the young leaders from the Hindu Community in Warrington.
“I was delighted to hear from students across the week, it is so important that we hear from young people to understand the issues that matter most to them.
“We had some great ideas from the students, as well as some tough questions, and it has given me a lot of ideas to take back down to Parliament.
“I’m very grateful that the Deputy Prime Minister came to speak and meet the students to listen to their ideas and how we could develop them further.
“I look forward to making the Democracy Workshop an annual event bringing together our future leaders and sharpening their skills.
“As ever, if constituents from Warrington South would like to get in touch, request a visit or arrange a surgery they can do so by visiting SarahHall.co.uk/Contact”.
