UK Parliament Representative Dispels Myths About Government For Students

Cleethorpes Academy Year 9 students with Gillian Bell, Senior Education and Engagement Officer for the UK Parliament Outreach Team, who gave a presentation at the Academy followed by  a question and answer session.

A UK Parliament representative gave Cleethorpes Academy students an overview of the workings of Parliament and Government and told them that school uniform rules are not laws but an example of mini democracy in action.

Gillian Bell, Senior Education and Engagement Officer for the UK Parliament Outreach Team, gave a presentation highlighting the difference between Parliament and Government, how they work together, how laws are made, and how young people can get their voices heard and participate in democracy.

She told the students in Years 7, 8 and 9 that anyone over the age of 18 can become an MP, with no special qualifications required other than a passion to represent the community. The Government is made up of 650 MPs.

Students were surprised to hear that the Queen’s role in Government is simply symbolic and that she has no say in the making of laws that govern the UK, although she is required to sign off on them. 

Gillian, who visits schools across the country, said many students have a misconception that the Queen has a far greater role in governing the country than she has. “It is good to be able to explain the real situation to students and dispel many of the myths about government,” she said.

She explained the roles of the House of Commons and House of Lords and the reasons why democracy and free speech are so important.

“We have free speech in this country and the right to peacefully protest but many countries do not, and some countries put people in prison for protesting,” she said. 

Students asked why they had to wear school uniform and Gillian explained that this is not a law but a rule made by individual schools, which highlights mini democracy in action.

Students took part in a quiz to identify new laws which have been made in recent years. These included a glass of fizzy drink, which represented the Sugar Tax which came into force in April 2018 as part of the Government's childhood obesity strategy to reduce sugar consumption by persuading companies to reformulate their high sugar brands and avoid paying the levy.

Year 8 student Maxwell Bradshaw was first to identify the tax and gave an eloquent explanation of the reasoning behind it. Another graphic represented the ban on plastic straws, which was also correctly identified by students, but some students said they opposed it because they said paper straws become too soggy. Gillian proposed that they simply drink from a glass and avoid the use of straws altogether. However, she highlighted that the law did allow for exemptions, particularly for disabled people who require a plastic straw to drink.

Gillian said the students had been “very engaged in the talks and had asked some very interesting and important questions.” 

Year 8 student Dylan Aylett said he found the presentation very informative. “It was very interesting to find out about the House of Lords as we mostly see the House of Commons on TV. I think it is important to know about these things because we are a democratic country.”

Cleethorpes Academy students are engaged in the presentation on UK Parliament.

Year 8 students Maxwell Bradshaw and Dylan Aylett with Gillian Bell, Senior Education and Engagement Officer for the UK Parliament Outreach Team.

Year 8 students Neve Draper and Jess Gude at Cleethorpes Academy with Gillian Bell, Senior Education and Engagement Officer for the UK Parliament Outreach Team.