Local Labour MP Jen Craft comes to USP College for a Q&A with junior ambassadors

Pictured: Local Labour MP Jen Craft in the assembly hall at USP College Palmer's Campus.

Yesterday, local Labour MP for Thurrock Jen Craft visited our Palmer's Campus in Grays after being invited by our EPAS junior ambassadors for a Q&A session.

Taking place in Immersive Room 1, with junior ambassadors at Seevic also participating virtually, the Q&A covered several topics, including Keir Starmer’s plan for a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, tuition fee rises, the work of the current Labour government, the conflict in Israel and Gaza, government budget cuts and wealth taxes, and assisted dying.

Pictured: Junior ambassadors at Seevic participate in the Q&A virtually using USP's immersive room technology.

Born and raised in Thurrock, Craft has served as the MP for Thurrock since defeating her Conservative predecessor Jackie Doyle-Price at the 2024 general election. A disability rights activist, Craft has mainly focussed on SEND rights since her election, becoming the first MP in history to use British Sign Language in Parliament, as well as founding all-party parliamentary groups on SEND and British Sign Language, which she chairs. Like many of our junior ambassadors, she did her A-Levels, including politics, at Palmer's!

Craft did a Q&A with us last year, after she was selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Thurrock. A few weeks ago, the EPAS team at Palmer’s discussed inviting her back in for another Q&A now she was an MP (see one of our recent posts), leading to yesterday's session.

Pictured: Craft with junior ambassador Eric Bevan at her Q&A at Palmer's in January 2024.

The theme was "Women in Politics" to mark Women's History Month 2025. Craft first delivered a talk about this theme and the challenges of being a new MP, including the antiquated procedures of Parliament (e.g. 'bobbing'), juggling constituency and parliamentary duties, and raising a young family alongside being an MP. This was then followed by the Q&A, which took place in the Immersive Rooms at Palmer’s and Seevic.

Jen was in a bit of a rush (like most MPs!), so we couldn't take many pictures. However, she did allow us to record her responses to our questions, which have been posted on our Instagram page here.

At the end of the session, Jen invited our junior ambassadors on a tour with her to Parliament, which is now scheduled to take place later in the year. She also praised our ambassadors for their work and expressed her support for the EPAS programme at USP College. She also said she could facilitate week-long internships for students, but Thurrock-based students would be prioritised.

It was wonderful to have Jen in with us again, and our ambassadors look forward to seeing her again in Parliament later in the year!