East Ham pupils probe candidates at Langdon hustings
Students at Langdon with Samir Jassal (Conservative), Rachel Collinson (Green Party) and Stephen Timms (Labour) - Credit: Archant
With one day to go before the nation takes to the polls, pupils from an East Ham academy proved their thirst for politics by hosting a hustings.
Over 100 students at Langdon Academy held a debate with MP candidates – probing them about topics including climate change, the voting age and democracy.
In quick-fire style, candidates were given just a minute to respond.
“I asked about getting young people involved in politics and how politicians could do more,” said Yusaf Uddin, 16, in Year 11.
“It was just like parliament when they started arguing about spending and taxes,” Fadumeen Ahmed, 16, added.
Labour’s Stephen Timms, the Conservatives’ Samir Jassal and the Green’s Rachel Collinson attended.
The debate was chaired by Langdon student and young mayor of Newham Yaseen Bux, 16.
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Elected in one of the largest turnouts for a young mayor nationwide, he said: “Langdon pupils love getting involved and democracy is very special to us. We like to talk to politicians, we like to vote and we like to make a difference.”
Principal Peter Whittle said he was impressed with the students, adding: “they completely dispelled the myth that young people are not interested in politics.
“None of the candidates will have found this an easy experience and I’m very grateful to them for putting themselves on the spot.”
