Politics

Getting to know Dr Stocker

The Ultimate Politics Quiz

Teaching allows me to talk about and be involved in a subject that I really enjoy. I like learning about Russian and British History, and only through teaching can you do all that. So it was for the love of the subject.

I got interested in politics when I was at University when there was a lot of debates about far right politics. At the time, the British National Party was doing very well in elections and I became interested in why people would support the far right as I find them terrible.

It was an experience! I was on it to talk about Donald Trump and his influence on the far right. I had to wake up at 04:30 and I was quite nervous about being on a live TV. Random people I knew came up to me to say they’d seen me. I hadn’t told anybody so I didn’t expect that when I came into school, everyone would know.

I really dislike like lateness. That makes me sound like I’m not fun but I really hate it. 1. What date has Theresa May schedueled for Britain to be leaving the EU on? 2. Who is the current Vice President of the United States? 3. Which political party did the Conservatives make a deal with after the 2017 snap election? 4. Which MP spent more than 20,000 to fly to Afghanistan to avoid the Commons Vote? 5. Which MP got the Nationality of his wife wrong? 6. Is it true that John Bercow called Andrea Leadsom ‘a stupid woman’? 7. What food could there be a shortage of after Brexit? 8. Who approved the Baby Blimp to be flown in London in 2018 when the Trump visited the UK?

Year 12 Trip to Parliament

On the 14th January, our Year 12 Politics class went on a much-anticipated trip to visit the Houses of Parliament. When we first arrived at Westminster, we met our guide, who gave us a brief tour of the building. We had arrived on the day of a crucial vote in the House of Commosn on Theresa May’s deal; on the street outside, we saw several Brexit campaigners with signs, who looked as if they had been there since the arly hours of the morning. The atmosphere was definitely politically charged. After our short tour, we met Rupa Huq, the Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton who took us to an exclusive MP only room and gave us each a copy of the Hansard, which had the written report of everything said in the House of Commons the day before. She gave us the inside scoop about her life as an MP and the recent problems the Labour party had faced whilst trying to sort out Brexit. She then took us to watch a debate in the House of Commons in which the Defence Minister was questioned. Our next tour consisted of going into the House of Commons, where we saw seats which MPs had actually sat in. It felt surreal to be standing in a room where MPs met so regularly, which we had only ever before seen onscreen! We had to hand in our phones and bags before lining up to enter. Whilst lining up, we saw our icon Mr Speaker (John Bercow) walk in and he smiled at us! When I sat down, the speaker announced that the Malaysian government were with us in the House of Commons, and to my surprise, they were sitting right next to me. It was a slightly odd moment. We watched MPs debate over the drone situation in Gatwick airport and combatting international terrorism. It was definitely an unforgettable trip; I will definitely be visiting the Houses of Parliament again!

Rania Al-Ali, Year 12 Jer em y H un t B or is J o hn so n Th e D U P Sa di q Kh an Mi ke P en c e Tu r ni ps Oc t ob er 3 1st Ye s AN S WE R S :