Around 50 A Level students at Gower College Swansea recently attended a special hustings event at the Gorseinon campus which allowed them the opportunity to ask questions of their local constituency candidates.
In the run up to the General Election, this was a chance for these young people to engage with the political process and ask questions about the issues most pressing to them.
In attendance were*:
Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour)
Franck Banza (Lib Dem)
Wayne Erasmus (Independent)
Chris Evans (Green Party)
Kieran Thomas Pritchard (Plaid Cymru)
Tara-Jane Sutcliffe (Conservative and Unionist Party, Swansea West)
The event was organised by Assistant Learning Area Manager for Humanities and Languages, Michelle Knipe, and Curriculum Leader Scott Evans, who also chaired the debate.
“We were really pleased with the scope of the topics covered on the day including the high costs of going to university, the effects of Brexit and our relationship with the EU, the Israel/Gaza humanitarian crisis, and climate change,” says Michelle.
“It was a pleasure to hold this hustings event and to chair what was an interesting, lively and informative session,” adds Scott. “Our students excelled themselves with their questions and made sure that the candidates heard the voices of young people and what matters to them loud and clear.”
* Catrin Thomas (Reform UK) and Marc Jenkins (Conservative, Gower) were also invited but could not attend due to other commitments.