Law students traditionally spent three intensive years studying the law of the land but seldom get to meet those responsible for actually making the law - our parliamentarians. In an effort to address this shortcoming, Law lecturer Andrew Gilbert organised a simultaneous visit of the Members of Parliament representing the Cambridge and Chelmsford constituencies. Cambridge MP David Howarth and Chelmsford MP Simon Burns attended the respective campuses to address the first-year Public and European Law classes on the morning of Friday 24 October.

The MPs spoke about their role as legislators in our unique constitutional system. They covered such topics as the recent 42-day detention debate and what it is like in the chamber during Prime Ministers' question time. The session was then opened to students to ask questions, which ranged from house of lords reform to what is the most exciting aspect of the job.

The sessions were also attended by School of Law staff and by the Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of the faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, Derrik Ferney. Commenting on the events, Andrew Gilbert said: "I'm delighted that these visits have been such a success. Student feedback has been really positive and actually meeting a legislator has brought to life important aspects of the module."

If you'd like to find out more about these visits, please contact Andrew Gilbert.

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