Pathways into Politics, Workshop with John Grogan, 14th April 2020
On 14th April 2020, Forward Thinking held a video conference with former MP John Grogan and ‘Pathways into Politics’ participants. This was the second meeting held as part of a ‘mini series’ of follow up events after an initial Pathways into Politics leadership programme held in February.Pathways into Politics is a programme which is aimed at developing the ambition of young Muslims to engage with politics and their ability to be able to do so. The programme seeks to develop the participants’ leadership and communication skills as well as their political literacy.From 2010-2019, John Grogan was the Labour MP for Keighley and between 1997-2010, he was Labour MP for Selby. During his time in Parliament he was a member of the select committee for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and also sat on the Northern Ireland Committee. Aside from politics, John has worked in the business sector, promoting British trade within emerging international economies.This meeting was intended to be interactive and focused on specific UK policy issues; prior to the meeting, participants submitted key questions and topics that they would like to discuss. The meeting centred around six key themes: the UK government response to COVID-19; education policy in the UK; UK environmental policies; ethnic minority representation and participation in sport; ways of addressing health inequality; the new Labour leadership and next steps for the Labour party.Much of the discussion focussed on the impact and potential implications that the spread of COVID-19 could have on various policy issues. John commented on the UK government’s response to the virus and emphasised that government measures will be felt differently among different socioeconomic groups and minority communities. When discussing environmental issues, both John and the participants highlighted the opportunity for policy change that could emerge in the post-COVID context. John noted that after the government has mobilised resources to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, there will be an increased pressure to respond similarly to environmental issues.Reflecting on his career, John also offered advice to the participants on how they can engage with and become involved in UK politics. He stressed the importance of engaging with democracy and highlighted that by doing do, it is possible to create positive change.We are currently consulting with participants to better understand the skills and knowledge they would like to develop further and plan to schedule sessions for the coming weeks that will address these needs.