Littlecoates Primary
I am a regular visitor of Littlecoates Primary School, and it was wonderful to see the head, Mr Wilkinson, his team and the children. The Year 6 classes had prepared a wide range of questions which were around the theme of climate change, which was the subject they are studying this term. The pupils asked questions about how we can support nature and wildlife, what they can do to help slow climate change, and we talked about their tree planting project they will be undertaking in the next few weeks.
We had a very detailed and interesting discussion about the impact of plastics on the environment and how to reduce buying and using plastics, but because we have plastics companies in the constituency, we talked about people who work in that industry and what we can do to help the plastics industry become part of the circular economy.
Moreover, we discussed the importance of wild plants in everyone’s gardens, that support native insect species, butterflies and moths. We also talked about the green jobs that exist in the town now, such as wind energy, and the growing opportunities in the renewable sector that they should be thinking about when they start secondary school next year. The children were all really keen to talk, and I could have been there all day, it was wonderful to see them all so engaged in how politics affects their everyday lives.
Franklin College
As part of Parliament Week, I visited Franklin sixth-form College, to take questions from the students. The event was well attended by students and staff, providing a great opportunity to talk about the work of an MP. They asked many challenging and thought-provoking questions about a variety of topics including voting, standards in public life, levelling up, employment, mental health, and climate change, which were very relevant as COP 26 was taking place. This event was extremely well organised, with special thanks to the chairman.
11th Grimsby Scout Troop
I joined the 11th Grimsby Scout troop’s weekly meeting to discuss various topics, primarily around the inner workings of Parliament. These included what a typical week for an MP entails, my favourite room inside parliament, and asking if I had met the prime minister. They also asked questions about bullying in schools and how we could stop racism. One of the Scouts has been selected to attend the 25th Scout Jamboree in South Korea in 2023, an amazing accomplishment recognising Scouts across the world.
