Intern week 2016
'As a young person in politics today it can be challenging to get involved and get your voice heard, but thanks to the fabulous people at the Chichester Conservative Association myself and two other colleagues, India MacNally and Amy Millar, have had a brilliant week packed with memorable experiences. Providing a valuable insight into local and national politics this week has flown by with visits to the City, District and County Councils in Chichester, and Kensington in London. We started the week by visiting a community centre that has been aided by the local District Council and we enjoyed an insightful tour around Chichester by Cllr Leslie Hixson, a member of the District Council. During this time we met truly inspiring people such as Cllr Jane Kilby and Brian and Edith Clear. After a quick stop off for a cold glass of lemonade we continued on our tour before heading to the Country Council for a look round the main conference area. Over the coming week we attended select committees, sat in on vision groups for the city, met the staff at various departments of the County Council, canvassed with Andrew Tyrie our local MP and visited London to campaign on the EU referendum. This was a great confidence building exercise as we engaged with the public and encouraged them to get out and vote. All of which gave us a look at politics today that is not available elsewhere, but somewhat more importantly it gave us a voice. As two of us were under 18 we could not vote in the referendum but could still make our voice heard through the campaign. All in all a super week packed to the brim with unique experiences and a look at what real politics is like not just the issues focused on by the media.
Chris Banks, India MacNally and Amy Millar