On 10th November Gagan made a pair of school visits as part of that week’s constituency day.
The first was to Rickmansworth School where he addressed politics students from the school’s sixth form. In his speech he covered several topics, including his election, previous Government roles and his approach to party politics. He spoke candidly about the reality of life in Westminster and the difficulties presented by the need for compromise. As part of his discussion about his government roles he shed light on what happens behind closed doors when fast-paced changes are made by the Government.
Students were quick to pick up on key themes Gagan had introduced, particularly that of party loyalty and what it meant to consistently vote with the Government. This presented pupils with an opportunity to compare what they had learnt about politics with an account of real-world experience.
After this Gagan visited Oxhey Wood Primary School where he addressed a similarly curious group of students.
He explained to them what Parliament is, what MPs do and how they get elected. In their period of questioning the pupils were keen to hear about the intricacies of Gagan’s constituent casework and what he did to solve their problems. Much attention was also paid to his international travels during his time with the Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office.
Gagan commented that school visits are consistently one of his favourite parts of his job and that he greatly enjoyed talking to students in South West Hertfordshire.