It is always interesting and informative to hear our elected representatives speak about their role as MPs.
Older readers may remember Jim Prior, the Conservative Member of Parliament who represented the Waveney constituency for many years. On a visit to a Suffolk school in the mid 1980s he suddenly asked his audience of largely sixth formers whether anybody thought that Mrs Thatcher was a ‘lousy’ Prime Minister. Only one person put his hand up and his identity shall remain anonymous. What had prompted Mr Prior’s remark? One suspects that it had something to do with the fact that he had just been sent to Belfast as Northern Ireland Secretary, an appointment which in those days was fraught with both personal and political danger.
It is always interesting and informative to hear our elected representatives speak about their role as MPs and as government ministers and it is of considerable educational value for those engaged upon advanced level study especially to be able to listen to and to question those people who have a very important part to play in public life. Therefore we were very fortunate last year to have had three prominent local MPs as visiting speakers, Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat – North Norfolk), Richard Bacon (Conservative – South Norfolk), and Charles Clarke (Labour – Norwich South). They have all been friends to the College in different ways over the years. Norman Lamb is a former pupil, Richard Bacon takes a close interest in our achievements, and Charles Clarke as Secretary of State for Education supported the bid to build the impressive extension to Lincoln Hall.
Such speakers enrich the experience of students. It provides them with a context which takes the theoretical perspective of the lesson or textbook and translates it into something more accessible. The original idea was certainly to try to raise the political awareness of students generally and more specifically to provide Law, Politics and Sociology students with additional evidence as all three courses at advanced level have a dimension which relate to the work of Parliament and the wider political system. MPs are law makers and in some cases policy makers. They always have a view. This means that there are opportunities for the audience to question, to support or to challenge.
As one might expect, our three guests on the different occasions when they visited spoke fluently and lucidly. They spoke about Parliament and what a MP does. They talked about their wider responsibilities as elected representatives. They answered some very good questions from the floor openly and with integrity. Their replies avoided the party political. Charles Clarke provided a considerable insight into the role and responsibilities of the Home Secretary. Positions on the war in Iraq were explained as were appreciations of the respective party leaders. Norman Lamb was here before Nick Clegg took over as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Is David Cameron the way forward for the Conservatives? Charles Clarke made us smile with his measured response to a question about whether he thought Gordon Brown had the skills and temperament to be a good Prime Minister.
In the last couple of weeks we have been entertained and informed by the visit of Simon Nicholls, a leading criminal lawyer with a Norwich based solicitors practice. Simon is a defence lawyer of vast experience who spoke with great enthusiasm about what he does. Of particular interest to some were the anecdotes concerning one recent client, the supermodel Naomi Campbell. There is no doubt that Simon has inspired some members of the audience to seriously consider a career in the legal profession. As one current Year 13 Law student put it, “Why haven’t I applied to do a Law degree?” (The answer to this is because he wants to be an actor. My bet is that he will end up as a barrister.)
Looking forward into the new year Ian Gibson the Labour MP for Norwich North will be with us at the end of January. The political balance will be redressed when the former Conservative minister Baroness Shephard of Northwold speaks to sixth form students at the beginning of March. There can be no doubt that having such public figures as visiting speakers is an opportunity to learn something for all who are present. It gives us a valuable insight into public life at different levels. How often do we have a former Home Secretary in the Library? It may also provide the stimulus for College students to get involved and to participate more willingly as citizens in a modern democratic society.
David Smith
Head of Law, Politics, Sociology
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