City MP welcomes students to the Houses of Parliament for his Westminster Experience Day 2026, providing local young people with an insight into life in Parliament and to aspire the community leaders of the future.
The popular annual event to help our city’s young people gain skills for work and life is organised and co-hosted by Stephen Morgan MP alongside Dame Meg Hillier MP, a former Southsea resident and now chair of the Treasury Select Committee.
The day of experiences in Westminster also facilitates networking between Portsmouth South’s young people and those attending from Hackney South and Shoreditch.
The day started with attendees receiving a tour of the Palace of Westminster and observing Foreign, Commonwealth and Development questions in the House of Commons.
In the afternoon, attendees were able to hear from and pose questions to Mr Morgan during a joint Q&A session alongside Dame Meg Hillier MP, and to be quizzed on their respective roles in Parliament and Government.
Alongside these speakers, students heard from a Labour Press Team representative, a member of Dame Hellier’s parliamentary staff, and Mr Morgan’s Private Secretary within DEFRA. Each speaker discussed their position and their career journeys in politics.
Following this, students concluded the day’s activities by engaging in a Snap General Election workshop. During this exercise, students developed hypothetical political parties that were presented to the group and voted between.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“Ensuring that every young person succeeds and thrives, whatever their background or wherever they are from, is a priority of mine in Parliament. That’s why I place real value on supporting young people to gain the skills they need for work and for life.
“Every year, my Westminster Experience Day gives young people from our community the opportunity to get a unique insight into the heart of British democracy.
“Yet again this year the day was inspiring and should give us real hope for the future of our city, knowing that people are growing up in Portsmouth already caring so much about what is happening in our area and across the country.
“Huge congratulations to all those who were involved”.
Noyan Esmaeilpour Fallahi, President of the University of Portsmouth’s Politics Society, said:
“The Westminster Experience Day allowed our society members to see how people’s voices are represented in Parliament, not only through MPs but also through the staff and civil servants who work behind the scenes to keep parliamentary procedures running smoothly.
“We are grateful to Stephen Morgan for allowing our society members to gain insight into the heart of British democracy.”
