John Bercow reaches out to North students
Sep 30 2010 by Amy Hunt, The Journal
COMMONS Speaker John Bercow paid a visit to the North East yesterday as part of a drive to get more people interested in politics.
Mr Bercow met young people at an event at St James’ Park to find out what they think of what goes on in Westminster’s corridors of power.
Later he gave a keynote speech at Northumbria University in which he praised its ability to engage with students and experts from around the UK and the world.
Mr Bercow is touring the country as part of his Parliamentary Outreach project which he hopes will restore the faith of the public in MPs and Parliament, repair some of the damage done by the expenses scandal and encourage more people, especially youngsters, to get involved in politics.
In Newcastle Mr Bercow, who is usually to be found playing “referee” for MPs’ debates in the House of Commons, met Sixth Form politics students from Kenton and Benfield schools to find out what they had to say.
He faced questions from the very young people he hopes to engage in politics, about his views on the Coalition government, how he managed to go from being a Conservative MP to a neutral speaker, whether he believes the voting system should be changed and how he planned to turn youngsters on to how decisions are made.
