Recently re-elected MP for North East Somerset, Jacob Rees-Mogg, visited Somervale School on Friday, 16th June, to talk to a group of Year 9 students, discussing education policies, the local area and creating jobs.
The visit is part of a wider Democracy Day, which took place at the school on Wednesday, 21st June, in an effort to get students thinking about British politics and how they may vote in the future.
Students, Jacob Stocker, Josh James, Amelia Turner, Elen Wadsworth, Will Emery and Ben Carroll, filmed and recorded the interview, which will be shown to all students during Democracy Day and will also be aired on Somer Valley FM, as part of their work in a journalism workshop. The workshop gave tips and advice on how to interview guests, which the students used when meeting Mr Rees-Mogg.
Prior to his visit, the students also spent time researching Jacob Rees-Mogg, his local impact and his voting record in the Houses of Parliament.
During the interview, students discussed the hung parliament and the Conservatives’ election campaign, which Mr Rees-Mogg admitted did not go as well as expected, and said that the Conservatives should have spent more time and effort on trying to gain the youth vote. He also thought that the party had alienated their older, usually certain voters, by publicising policies in their manifesto, such as the ‘Dementia Tax’.
The pupils also used the time to talk about local housing improvements, bringing both local and national businesses to Midsomer Norton High Street, and also whether Grammar Schools were a good idea.
The students felt it helped them understand politics in greater detail, with Jacob Stocker saying that despite not being that interested in politics before, he has since been inspired to look at party policies and take an interest in current affairs and politics.
All the students agreed it was a good and useful experience to meet Jacob Rees-Mogg MP and thanked him for his time.