Politics Morning at King Alfred's College

This morning I attended four "Question and Answer" sessions about politics at King Alfred's College in Wantage.  This gave Year 11 pupils the opportunity to ask the politicians about their views on a number of topical questions.  I was very impressed by the quality of the subjects which were raised and of particular interest to the students were the economy, tuition fees, future jobs and employment issues, binge drinking and the summer riots.

The panel consisted of myself for the Liberal Democrats as Leader of the Opposition at the County Council, Leader of the Conservatives at the Vale of White Horse District Council and a Green Party Member who stood as Parliamentary Candidate in the Banbury Constituency.  We had a good debate and opportunities to discuss areas where we agreed and disagreed.  The national situation where Liberal Democrats are in a coalition government with the Conservatives raised its head several times, especially where it has meant that the parties have had to compromise on some things to achieve a common goal.

As it came up several times about how to help young people to get jobs especially during these hard times, I was able to refer to the announcement made by Vince Cable, our Lib Dem Business Secretary who is trying to support businesses with apprenticeships.  You can read the article here