Stephen Pound, the former MP for Ealing North, gave a fascinating and very engaging talk at St Benedict’s on Wednesday 25^th January.

The talk, which was the latest event in the St Benedict’s Lecture Series, was attended by students, teachers, parents, and alumni of the school.

Stephen Pound’s talk, entitled ‘Political Reflections’, began with a brief description of his childhood and early career: having left school at 15, he joined the Royal Navy before working as a hospital porter and a bus conductor. Night school study took him to the London School of Economics where he read Industrial Relations and Economics. He was the MP for Ealing North from 1997 to 2019, and he described his long, wide-ranging parliamentary career.

Some of St Benedict’s Politics A Level students chaired a question-and-answer session after the talk, and discussion included topics such as Britain's role in the world post-Afghanistan, the Russia-Ukraine War, a future Labour Government, and London issues such as ULEZ. On global challenges such as climate change and immigration, the world “had to be better – we have to work as a team” he said. There were two key messages he was particularly keen to emphasise to the many students in the audience: firstly, that “the majority of those in politics are there because they want to do good”; secondly, that participating in politics matters, and that it is vital to stay engaged and involved. Mr Pound praised the “marvellous ethos” at St Benedict’s, which upholds a strong moral sense, “courage” as well as intellect.

Stephen Pound is a formidable, knowledgeable, and entertaining communicator, and everyone enjoyed this stimulating and interesting evening.