Pupil brings election debate to schoolmates

April 29, 2015

An inspirational pupil got her schoolmates fired up about politics by organising a hustings with Monmouthshire MP candidates in the run up to the general election.

Henrietta, deputy head girl at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls, invited the influential panel to speak to an audience full of teenagers about their policies on Tuesday evening (April 28).

Held in the School’s main hall, the panel was formed of David Davies MP of the Conservatives, Labour candidate Ruth Jones, Liberal Democrat Veronica German, the Green Party’s Christopher Were, Gareth Dunn for UKIP and Janet Davies who deputised for Plaid Cymru runner Jonathan Clark.

Henrietta, who will be two days too young to vote this time around, said: “The event was extremely well attended by the student body which is very encouraging in a nation where the 16-24 age group is statistically the least likely to vote.

“The debate allowed pupils to put faces to policies and thus made politics both personal and relevant, something which is key when we consider the contemporary problem of youth disengagement.”

Boys from Monmouth School also attended the hustings, during which candidates had the opportunity to speak for five minutes each.

This was followed by a question and answer session, when pupils asked about topics including the Dixton Roundabout development in Monmouth, how to engage young people in politics and the NHS in Wales.

Henrietta added: “Engaging the youth of today is especially important for all young women, who earned the right to vote at the expense of many suffragette campaigners, and so I hope that through organising it the girls of HMSG will start thinking critically about the world of politics and the many opportunities it offers to them.”

In this report HMSG TV’s Julia presents a summary of what the candidates said, to help you decide who will get your vote on 7th May.