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The College Sixth Form welcomed Members of Parliament, Luke Pollard and Sir Gary Streeter to participate in a Question and Answer session with some of their students.

Mr Streeter was also joined by Cllr Rebecca Smith, the Conservative Party Candidate for the South West Devon Constituency at the next General Election.

Across the two visits, the College’s Parliamentary guests and students both engaged in a comprehensive session referencing a variety of political topics including...

...based on questions the students had submitted themselves.

Both MPs also emphasised to students the importance of casting of their vote at elections, a salient point given that a General Election is on its way, and in which some of the students may be old enough to vote in.

Rebecca Smith spoke of local housing and tackling violence against women and girls as some of her motivations to getting involved in politics, whilst Mr Pollard spoke about the campaign he was involved with to stop the releasing of raw sewage into Devil’s Point as well as also highlighting the need for more housing.

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Following the sessions, Mr Pollard said on X (formally known as twitter), “I want to see more young people involved in politics.

“It was good to answer questions from sixth formers at Ivybridge Community College on everything from the NHS to the environment, immigration to why they should vote.

“Thank you for inviting me back again.”

Sir Gary Streeter added on Facebook, “It's a highlight of the year to spend an hour with the Sixth Form at Ivybridge Community College and this morning was no different.”

Rebecca Smith also said, “Thank you to Ivybridge Community College for a really enjoyable hour this morning.

“Great to hear the questions and views of Year 12 and to chat with some of the students after.

“Looking forward to meeting again to hear students' views and share my experiences on women in politics and how we tackle violence against women and girls.”

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Luke Pollard has been the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport since 2017 and has also served as Shadow Environment Minister as well as Shadow Armed Forces Minister currently.

Sir Gary Streeter was the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton from 1992 – 1997 and MP for South West Devon since 1997 as well as a former Parliamentary Secretary in the Lord Chancellor’s Department, Shadow Minister in the Foreign Office and International Development Department as well as a member of Parliamentary committees.

Cllr Rebecca Smith is currently a representative for Plymstock Radford for Plymouth City Council and is the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for South West Devon. 

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The College would like to thank Cllr Rebecca Smith, Sir Gary Streeter MP and Luke Pollard MP for visiting and they hope to organise more events like this for students very soon.