Parliament Week is a great opportunity to meet lots of different groups of young people and to talk about the work of Parliament in general and my role as a local MP specifically.
This year I have been to one of the local primary schools, Stockbridge Cubs, 2nd Nursling and Rownhams Brownies, 1st North Baddesley Brownies, the SW region of Girl Guides which incorporated Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers from across a region which stretches from Cornwall to Hampshire.
North Baddesley Brownies had a great format for their event, when advocates for Mermaids, Ogres and Unicorns all competed to highlight the particular challenges they faced. It incorporated really important themes around litter, gender stereotypes and appearance based bullying.
The evening with Regional Girlguiding saw us designing community campaign posters and building an Elizabeth Tower out of marshmallows and spaghetti, testing my construction skills to the absolute limit.
Stockbridge Cubs held a mock Parliament and debated a range of important themes, including whether homework should be compulsory, and Nursling and Rownhams Brownies gave me their views on a smoking ban (very much in favour).
I have really enjoyed all of the events, but will admit to being a bit perturbed by the first question at the Primary School I visited last week, "how old are you?"
