I donated £80 for hats for these plucky adventurers when I met them last Thursday. Then on Friday, myself, North East Conservative MEP Martin Callanan and North West Tory MEP Sajjad Karim fielded questions from the pupils and fellow students from Newcastle College at an event in Newcastle’s Beacon Centre.
Among the issues debated were racial discrimination, religious intolerance, youth unemployment, the Scottish independence vote, an EU referendum, dyslexia in education, affordable housing and car insurance for young drivers.We encouraged all those there to use their vote at elections, whoever it was to be for, to make a difference to their lives.
It was great to meet the eight Excelsior students bound for Mount Everest base camp in October - their enthusiasm was genuinely wonderful to see. It will clearly change their lives