3 October 2019

Today, Scott Ainslie - Green Party MEP for London - welcomed a group of 17 students from London to the European Parliament in Brussels.

Students from the debate club at Robert Clack School - a comprehensive with nearly 2,000 students in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham - were taken on a guided tour of the Parliament, and had the chance to grill their Green MEP in an open Q&A session.

Robert Clack School is located in one of the country’s most deprived areas. More than a third of children in the borough live in poverty, and unemployment levels continue to soar. Over the past 15 years, the area has experienced one of the fastest demographic shifts the country has ever seen.

In many ways, the socioeconomic situation in Barking and Dagenham is a microcosm of so many Leave-voting areas of the UK. And in 2016, the residents of Barking and Dagenham voted overwhelmingly in favour of Brexit - making it one of just five of London’s 32 boroughs to do so.

During their day at the European Parliament, the students were introduced to Magid Magid - 30-year-old Green MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber - who talked about his background as a refugee from Somalia and assured the students that "Anyone can become an MEP, a councillor or a local mayor!".

The students also met 32-year-old Terry Reintke, a prominent young female Green MEP for Germany, who is fighting for women's rights, equality and social justice in the Parliament, and the 27-year-old German Green MEP Niklas Nienass.

The group had the chance to visit the 'hemicycle' – the famous room where MEPs debate and vote on new legislation. They then enjoyed a lively debate on whether the UK should hold a People's Vote on Brexit, which resulted in a majority of 12 to 5 in favour of the UK going back to the polls for another referendum.

Scott Ainslie, Green MEP for London, said of the visit:

"It was an absolute delight to welcome these young Londoners – some of whom hadn't left the UK for a long time – to Brussels and the European Parliament. Being from one of the most neglected areas of London, which voted Leave in the 2016 referendum, it was invaluable to hear their opinions on the chaotic state of British politics today.

I learned a huge amount from their debate on whether or not the UK should hold a People's Vote, with incredibly articulate arguments made on both sides.

One topic that came up repeatedly was the poor diet of lies and misinformation they've been fed about the EU by the media in the UK. I feel honoured to have been able to give them the chance to remedy this by experiencing how the European Parliament works first-hand. By arming them with the tools to find out the facts for themselves, I'm hoping they can now come to their own, informed conclusions about the value of the EU to their lives.

I was particularly pleased to learn that some of them now aspire to stand for representation themselves. Hopefully one day we'll see one of these young people representing London as an MEP, with the UK back at the heart of the European Union. And I'm encouraged to hear that they think they can do a better job than Johnson!"

Kamile, Robert Clack School student aged 17, said: "On this trip I learned a lot about the European Union and politics. I had no idea what was going on before, but now I feel like I actually know. It’s really got me interested in what’s happening around the world. I feel like there’s a lot of misconceptions from what I’d seen on the news, so now I’m glad these have been cleared up and I’ve had a chance to see what it’s really like. I’ve really enjoyed it."

Camryn, aged 16, added: "The trip to Brussels has been very enlightening. I’ve learned a lot of new things about the EU. It’s shown me that I’ve been in the dark about a lot of things going on in the world, and it’s opened up an interest in me to perhaps maybe even start going down this route as a career so I can make a change in the world. It seems like Mr Ainslie is doing his best to make a change, as does everyone we’ve seen here, and it influences people like me to want to make a change in the world too. It’s been a really enlightening experience."

James, aged 16, said: "It’s one thing seeing it on the news and reading about being an MEP, but another thing being here and seeing the people who work here to give you a feel for how it’s run. I’m a strong believer in that you can’t really understand how something works unless you actually go there and experience it. It’s been really good and we’ve had a lot of interesting conversations. It was a great opportunity and I’m just happy to have had it."

Sophie, 16, said: "This experience has been beyond my expectations. Every second I felt like I’m achieving something to help me in the future and it has helped my understanding of how legislative affairs work in Europe. I definitely feel this is beneficial to anyone - not just people going into law or civil service - as it relates to all of us."