Is canny Lammy set to be a future PM?
As young people we're hard pressed to find many MPs who we can really relate to. The majority are white, middle class men who were probably educated at private schools and speak in a language we barely understand. It's little wonder we're more likely to vote for Big Brother or Pop Idol than we ever will in general or local elections.
| I’ve never been comfy with the role model tag. I’m just a human being like anybody else. |
We were quite intrigued to meet David Lammy. At 29 he's the youngest MP in the House of Commons and one of the few politicians from an ethnic minority. Could he be the man to inspire the youth of Britain to take more of an interest in politics and even get us into the polling booths?
We were immediately impressed with how down to earth he was. He took genuine interest in where we're from and was very well informed about the schools we go to. Not what we were expecting from an MP. However, David Lammy doesn't really fit the stereotypical politician mould.
Born in Tottenham, north London, he was one of five children raised by his single, black mother. He admits that even though his childhood wasn't an easy one there were still plenty of good times.
"It's something I look back on and it makes me smile. I think of long summers and mucking around with my friends. On another level it was also quite difficult, as difficult as it is for a lot of people growing up in Tottenham today. Generally speaking I'm very proud about where I'm from."
So how did this boy from Tottenham make it to be one of the rising stars of the Labour Party?
He credits his mum with a lot of his achievements, describing her as "fantastic," and a great influence on getting him to work hard and remain focused.
His head teacher too gave him the confidence to do something with his life.
"If you believe in opportunity and succeeding in your dreams, whether you want to be an MP, pop idol, doctor or fireman you have to fight for that dream."
This is a message he's keen to pass on to young people. David Lammy told us he's spent a lot of time in his first couple of years as MP for Tottenham visiting local schools. He's keen to inspire young people to become more politically active and try to redress the imbalance that he sees in the House of Commons:
Old
"What I see on TV is more representative of the people of Britain then what I see in the House of Commons. We need young and old politicians who come from all sorts of backgrounds. We certainly need more ethnic minority MPs and more women."
Now he's in a position to inspire young black people to enter the white middle class dominated world of politics we wanted to find out how he plans to do this:
"I try to speak in school assemblies and classrooms about what I do and why it matters. Whether your street is clean, if you have to go to hospital and wait for hours, if you're in a housing block and you have to share your bedroom with three or four brothers or sisters - they're all political issues. I'm sure young people care about these things and part of my job is to sometimes remind them that there are channels to convey these things."
As assistant to Education Secretary Estelle Morris, David Lammy had a lot to say about the high exclusion rates for black pupils:
"If you exclude a child and that child is effectively left to fend for themselves in the middle of the day on the streets, I can predict today what the outcome for that child will be - a future of crime, prison, drugs and a life of very little social and economic potential."
Model
So does he see himself as a good role model for young black people?
"I've never been too comfortable with the role model tag. I'm just a human being like anybody else and I wouldn't want to say to anyone that they should be like me. But if in my life I manage to inspire someone to reach their potential and their dreams then I'm very pleased with that."
We reckon it's really inspirational that a young black person can make it from a less than privileged background to the House of Commons.
We were particularly impressed that David Lammy has first hand experience of his constituents' real lives and really seemed to be in touch with what's going on. He might just get our vote!
About the team
This story was produced by Klarisse Osei, 14, and Onome Edgeworth, 12. It was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
