Burnley and Padiham’s Member of Parliament has welcomed an eighth work experience student to his office as part of his plan to involve young people in politics.
Joining Antony’s office has been Year 10 student and Cliviger resident William Wood-Beverley who’s family have also joined Antony on one of his coach trips to Parliament.
These work experience opportunities have been giving students within the borough an opportunity to see first-hand the workings on an MP and an insight into how local politics works.
Speaking about his experience, William who has spent the last two weeks with Antony and his team said:
Being in Antony’s office has been a fantastic experience. I not only saw the dedication of Antony and his team but also actively contributed by completing a work experience pack and helping with various daily tasks.
It’s a busy place and this experience has given me valuable knowledge. I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity that I have been given.
Alongside carrying out tasks within the office, William was also able to conduct an interview with Antony, asking a whole range of topics which he thought people would want to know about.
Commenting Antony Higginbotham MP said:
It's been brilliant to welcome William to the office over the past two weeks. He's been such an inquisitive, polite and conscientious student - and his family should be very proud. We’ve certainly enjoyed having William around - and hopefully he’s enjoyed the experience too.
Getting young people to think about politics is important and is why I run these work experience placements. Much like my School Tour, it’s because I want to see more young people involved in our democratic process.
If you're a student, or know somebody who is, and are interested in spending a week in my office then please get in touch.
Those who undertake the experience will spent time going through a custom made, inhouse pack explaining all the different aspects of an MPs work, including the working in Parliament, responding and help constituents with issues and joining with the MP during his visits.
If you or a family member would like to undertake work experience in Antony’s office please let Antony know by clicking here
WILLIAM WOOD-BEVERLEY INTERVIEWS ANTONY HIGGINBOTHAM MP
Put together by William Wood Beverley
William: “Why did you get into politics Antony?”
Antony: "I studied politics in sixth form and I find the more you study something, the more interested you get."
He also wanted to stop reading about it and just do it. He emailed both the Labour MP and the Conservative candidate and whilst the Labour didn’t respond, the Conservative candidate did. He started off small and it just “snowballed”.
William: “Which former PM was your favourite?”
Antony started by selecting his top 3 which were David Cameron, Margret Thatcher and Winston Churchill. He then chose Winston Churchill “because of his impact not only at home in the UK but also across the world”.
William: "What is the next project for the constituency?”
Antony: “Fixing the roads” as it is “the things that affect them every day”. He proceeded by saying that they have “just been provided with a ¼ of a billion pounds just for Lancashire to repair roads”.
William: Why people should vote for you?
Antony responded by saying that it has been a shame that previous MP's have done nothing but talk Burnley down. And ignored Padiham and our villages. He's tried to be different. speaking positively about our area and calling for support in areas we do need to improve. He pointed to £100 million of investment that has come to the borough since 2019. He also said that he loves helping people from day to day when they contact his office. He's dealt with around 23,000 cases since he was elected.
William: What can a person my age (15) do to become an MP.
HIs main advice is “don’t be afraid, go for what you want in life, whether that's being an MP or not".
This question was historical.
William: “If you could travel to the past and still be the MP of Burnley, what would you do?”
He responded by saying that he would go back to 2007 “because that was the year we had a Labour MP and they decided to support the closure of the A+E department and the repercussions of that were massive". He said he'd foght tooth and nail against that.
Antony ended by talking about how good the town centre was getting compared to other places. When asked about what he believed was the best thing he had done for the community he responded with the words
“Put Burnley and Padiham on the map for the right reasons”.
William: Antony to finish, what is your biggest weakness?”
Antony: “I take things to heart.”
