Latest News
Students put city MP in firing line
POLITICS students from City College Norwich were given the chance to grill Norwich North MP Dr Ian Gibson on Friday.
The Labour politician came to the college to talk to 40 A-level students about life in Parliament. He spoke for over an hour before fielding some tough questions from the students.
Dr Gibson introduced himself to the students by saying: “Just like most of Norwich City Football Club, I came down to Norwich from Scotland.”
He talked about life as a politician and how Parliament works, together with some observations on political issues of the day, including how he had been the first MP to raise the issue of the Hungarian link in the current Bird Flu crisis.
Answering questions, he immediately lived up to his reputation for plain-speaking with the very first question he fielded - is it in the interests of the Labour Party for the Prime Minister to resign now? He answered yes.
Among the other questions he was asked were: what methods do Whips use to make MPs toe the party line?, what Bills have you rebelled against?, has having a career as a scientist before becoming a politician been an advantage? and how does an MP go about presenting a Private Members Bill to the Commons?
Gillian King, who leads the Politics A Level programme at City College, said: “It is a commonly held fallacy that young people aren't interested in politics. Young people are in fact as concerned about politics as they ever have been, although some of the issues have changed with different generations. Global warming and terrorism are huge issues now, and as these students have shown today, young people are concerned about the role of government in people's everyday lives, and about local issues too like bus passes for students.
“We are very grateful to Dr Gibson who has given our students a great learning experience today - and I think he enjoyed himself too.”
Find out more about the A Level Politics course at City College Norwich, by calling the college's Information Centre on 01603 773773.
Sarah Wade - The Advertiser
16 February 2007