City Youth Parliament Q&A
15th October 2008
On the 1st of September Alan met and answered questions from Southampton's City Youth Parliament. Below is a transcript of the questions asked and Alan's answers.
What do you think should be changed in Southampton and why?
Alan: Southampton is a great city. There have been some good changes in recent years - nightlife and entertainment has greatly improved. There are lots of things that still need changing, like getting a big arena for large events. But Southampton overall is a safe and good city to live in.
Can we have an ice rink please?
Alan:Ice rinks do not stand up on their own financially. There needs to be something else alongside it to make it work. We should be trying to get a multipurpose arena in Southampton that can include an ice rink. They could, for example put blocks over the ice so they can do gigs and other things there. It would be good to have an ice rink in the city again.
What do you think of transport expenses for young people in Southampton?
Alan:Getting around the city safely is important for young people. Ideally, public transport should be free for young people. Some bus services are subsidised by the city council, like many late evening services. We need to make sure the whole network works well. The Uni-link bus service is very good, but doesn’t cover the whole of the city.
What are the best features of Southampton for young people?
Alan:There are no no-go areas in Southampton for young people. it’s a safe city - that’s very important for young people; and there are increasing numbers of places and things to do for young people now in the city.
What are your views on gangs and knife crime? What are you doing about it?
Alan:There is a lot of knife crime reported in the papers these days, but overall knife crime figures show it is decreasing. But it should not be ever acceptable to carry a knife around, and some peoples fear of attack may cause them to carry knives themselves. One thing we must do is to change the atmosphere around carrying knives. We must stop people believing that it is smart or ‘rock hard’ to carry knives.
Is it hard being an MP?
Alan:Yes it is. Some MPs can get away with not doing very much, because you don’t have a boss as such. But if you do the job properly, there is never a time when you can say ‘I’ve done everything, I can stop now’. Most of the week is spent in Parliament, and that means you have to pack everything you want to do in Southampton to just a couple of days a week.
Is there anything you would change about your job as an MP?
Alan:Yes. Better working hours. There have been a number of changes in Parliament in recent years. Sometimes MPS used to sit debating things in Parliament all night. We don’t do that now, but the sitting hours are still very odd, and no-one doing any other job would think they were reasonable.
What kind of work do you do with young people in Southampton?
Alan:I’ve done a lot of support work for young people in the city. I’ve done some campaigns on my website, like ‘Pump up the vote’. I’ve supported the Youth Parliament in the city.
What do you think about education in Southampton? And do you think there are enough emotional behaviour facilities in schools?
Alan:Education in Southampton is changing a lot this year with all the secondary school changes, and the two new academy schools opening. We need to keep on building new school buildings and replacing older ones. Southampton is quite good on emotional behaviour facilities, but we need more. I would like to see more young people stay in the city for their school education.
What is your biggest concern as an MP?
Alan:Climate change. We have got only about 15 years left to put the mechanisms that will give as a real chance of stabilising our climate into place. If we don’t do it, we won’t get a second chance.
Could we not put wind turbines and solar panels up to power part of the city’s electricity to help combat climate change?
Alan:Ye,s those sort of measures would help a lot. What would also help is if homes were properly insulated and we could save a lot of energy that is presently just going to waste. There is a big role for Southampton to play in developing new forms of power, like heat supply. The geothermal heat plant near First Choice Travel Agents in West Quay retail park has saved thousands of tones of carbon dioxide emissions over the years, but Southampton could do more for homes in the West of the City, for example. I have solar panels on the roof of my house, which save me a lot of energy. If we put panels on even half the houses in the city that would make a huge difference.
How many years did it take you to become an MP?
Alan:It took me a long time. I first stood for Labour in Southampton in 1983. I lost several elections in Southampton before I got elected in 1997. I have never gone around the country trying to get nominated for safe seats, like some people do.
How old were you when you started to get interested in politics?
Alan:About 15.
What made you interested in politics?
Alan:My parents were always quite political, but told me that Labour was very bad for the country. I disagreed with them, and wanted to find out for myself. I’ve always wanted to change how things are run.
Do you want to be Prime Minister?
Alan:No being Prime Minister is a very tough job. Everything is your fault!
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