To mark Parliament Week 2022, Julia Lopez MP invited secondary schools across the Hornchurch & Upminster constituency to join her for a tour and scrutiny session in the House of Commons to learn more about our democracy. 

Students from Hall Mead, Campion, Abbs Cross and Sacred Heart Schools, as well as Havering Sixth Form college, participated in this morning’s event. 

UK Parliament Week is an annual festival that engages people from across the country with their UK Parliament, explores what it means to them and empowers them to get involved. Last year there were over 10,000 activities and 1.1 million people taking part.

While Mrs Lopez normally visits schools in the constituency to mark UK Parliament Week, this year she was required to be in the House of Commons as a duty minister and so invited local students into her workplace instead. 

Students were shown Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster which recently held HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Lying in State, as well as Central Lobby and St Stephen’s Hall, where the House of Commons sat until it was destroyed by the fire of 1834. The group of 26 students also got the chance to grill the MP in a committee room, questioning her on what it is like to be an MP, measures to address cost of living, public faith in politicians and changes in the media landscape, among other issues. 

Julia Lopez MP said: ‘It was a great pleasure to meet so many local students this morning and to hear their views on some of the most important issues of the day. I was very impressed by how articulate the students were and their appreciation of the nuances of the political issues which we discussed. A number of students expressed an interest in pursuing politics further beyond their studies and I am confident of their ability to make a positive contribution to public life. They were a credit to themselves and the schools they represented this morning.’