From Westminster to Worthing – local MP Tom Rutland visits Worthing College 

Worthing College was honoured to host Tom Rutland, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, who visited as part of UK Parliament Week.

Tom fielded a variety of questions from some of the college’s Politics students – covering topics from the situations in Ukraine and Gaza, to the government’s most recent budget and welfare reforms.

He also gave students an introduction to himself, how he became a member of parliament, and some main areas of concern he has for the area and the country as a whole.

Tom was then asked to present prizes to the winner and runner-up of the ‘One Minute, One Voice’ competition – a competition held to encourage students to express their ideas, passions and perspectives in a one-minute voice note.

College Principal Helena Thomas and Vice Principal Jenny Thompson then led Tom on a tour of the campus, including the library and the science labs.

The visit followed interest from Tom, who reached out after seeing the success of last year’s UK Parliament Week activities held at the college.

UK Parliament Week is a nationwide initiative held every November to help people understand Parliament’s work and encourage engagement with democracy.

Reflecting on his visit, Tom said:
“It was great to visit Worthing College and get a tour of the fantastic facilities here, especially the library and the science labs.

“They were absolutely brilliant to see, and it was really fun speaking with the students who are studying politics and answering their insightful questions.

“One of the things I really wanted people to take out of today was the importance of young people having a voice in politics and making it heard. That really matters to me as a younger MP, and I want to make sure they have as much of a voice as anyone else.”