(Left to right: Stephen Crabb MP, former Ysgol Dewi Sant pupil and No. 10 Official Abigail Green, Ysgol Dewi Sant sixth-formers Joanne Brockbank and Alice Edgeworth and Stephen’s Parliamentary Researcher, James formerly of Milford Haven Comprehensive School).
On Thursday 6th March, MPs from across the UK invited sixth-form students from their constituencies into Parliament to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Ysgol Dewi Sant sixth-former Alice Edgeworth from Simpson Cross took part in the ‘Inspiring Change’ event, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Parliament.
Alice spent the day shadowing Stephen and finding out how Parliament works behind the scenes. As well as learning about Stephen’s work as the local MP and a Wales Office Minister, Alice had a tour of No. 10 Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament and watched a Stephen take part in a St David’s Day debate in the House of Commons.
Alice had lunch on the Terrace of the Palace of Westminster with Stephen and her cousin, Joanne Brockbank, also a sixth-former at Ysgol Dewi Sant. They were joined by Stephen’s Parliamentary Researcher James from Milford Haven and Abigail Green, a former Ysgol Dewi Sant pupil who started out as a volunteer intern for Stephen before working for him full time in Parliament. Abigail now works for the Prime Minister, David Cameron at No. 10.
The day ended with an afternoon tea hosted by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller, in the Speaker’s State Apartments. The girls listened to speeches from senior female politicians from across the political parties as well as leaders in business and the armed forces. After the reception, Alice met the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP, who was interested to hear about her experiences of the day.
Following the event at the Speaker’s State Apartments, Alice said,
“I’ve had such an amazing day. The Houses of Parliament were a lot bigger than I expected and it was really cool to walk in the footsteps of some of the people that we’ve been learning about recently in History.
I still can’t believe that I’ve been inside Downing Street. It was amazing to walk up the famous staircase that you see in the films with all the pictures of previous Prime Ministers, I even sat in the PM’s chair in the Cabinet Room!
It was quite daunting coming from the smallest city in the UK to the largest but Stephen and his team were all so lovely and welcoming. I didn’t really know much about politics before but I’m definitely interested to find out more now that I’ve spent the day in Parliament. It was very empowering to represent young women from Pembrokeshire at the event and I hope to go back again soon!”
Stephen commented,
“Wales needs more women in leadership positions and this International Women’s Day event was a fantastic opportunity to inspire the next generation of young women to achieve their goals.
I think it is very important for young people from Pembrokeshire to have the opportunity to broaden their horizons and aspirations. As Abigail and James have demonstrated, there is no reason why hard-working young people from Pembrokeshire cannot go on to make a difference right at the heart of Government.”
