House of Lords Peer Visits Birkenhead Sixth Form College

Birkenhead Sixth Form College played host to a member of the House of Lords on Friday, as the top tier of the UK government seeks to encourage students to become more engaged with politics and Parliament.

Life peer, Lord Storey, a former Lord Mayor of Liverpool and leader of the City Council, met with A Level Politics students to talk about the role of the House of Lords and helped in their understanding of the parliamentary system. This was followed by a question and answer session to allow a further insight into general life in Westminster.

The visit was part of a continuing outreach programme by the House of Lords’ Lord Speaker, ‘Peers in Schools’, which has been running across the UK since 2007 and has so far involved around 75,000 young people.

Addressing the students, Lord Storey, a Liberal Democrat peer, discussed how his background in education and political experience helped him to achieve his place at the House of Lords. He also demonstrated how a typical House of Lords vote is conducted and was delighted with how well this was received, saying: “The students were really wonderful, I was impressed with their enthusiasm and knowledge when getting involved and asking questions. I think it is important for young people to have an interest in Parliament and the way in which it operates, so it was fantastic to see so much interest in political topics.”

Birkenhead Sixth Form College Politics teacher, Jane Cavanagh, said: “It was an honour to have a member of the House of Lords visit our students and really helped bring to life what we discuss in the classroom. Lord Storey delivered an engaging and informative presentation which allowed our students to ask some challenging and intelligent questions at the end.”

The Government & Politics students at Birkenhead Sixth Form College will be following up Lord Storey’s visit with a tour of the House of Lords in Westminster, arranged by Lord Storey, following a political conference they will be attending there in December.