Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
“The Press Gallery’s writing competition for schools has an impressive track record in encouraging young people to put forward their ideas for tackling some of the burning issues which confront not only members of the UK parliament but politicians the world over. Young people are the future; their ideas matter.
I know this year young people have been asked to put forward their ideas to make Britain a better place. I hope many more of them will enter and let us know how they think we can improve life for people in their communities and across the UK – I look forward to reading the winning entry this year. “
Gisela Stuart MP, Editor, The House Magazine
“Young people are interested in politics; even if they don’t always make it to the ballot box at election time. I was impressed with the quality of entries at least years’ writing competition – and even more so when I met one of the winners who came from my constituency.
Can I invite all my colleagues at Westminster to get in touch with their Secondary Schools and ask them to be part of the Parliamentary Press Gallery writing competition. Young people won’t tell us what they think we the politicians should do if we can’t be bothered to ask them!”
Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
“This competition is a really innovative way of engaging young people beyond Westminster in our political process and so I’m really pleased that so many people have got involved. Too often young people feel alienated and excluded from politics, and this competition is a great showcase of their wealth of talent.
I was very impressed by the quality of the winning entries, and look forward to reading more ideas in the future about how to make Britain a better place and how to engage young people. I would like to wish everyone the best of luck.”
David Cameron MP, Leader of the Conservative Party
“The fact that this competition has stimulated such interest is a sign of how engaged many young people want to be with political discussion and decision-making if given the chance. It´s a great way to encourage a new generation to learn more about Parliament and the political process, and I would like to wish you even greater success in the years to come.”