B1 – Intermediate
Sam Carling won a seat as a Member of Parliament or MP in the recent UK general election. He is 22 years old, one of the youngest MPs the UK has ever had.
With his win, he hopes more young people will go into politics and serve the people.
Read this article about UK’s young MP.
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2407/240708-member-of-parliament-4.html
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “beat” mean here, “Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly beat his Conservative Party rival by 39 votes.”? Give one (1) synonym or similar expression and use ‘beat’ in this context in your own sentence.
- What does “a deprived area” mean? “He grew up in “a deprived area” in the north of England.” Give one (1) synonym or similar expression and use ‘a deprived area’ in your own sentence.
- What does “an economic powerhouse” mean? “The Conservative Party promised to turn it into an economic “powerhouse”.” Give one (1) synonym or similar expression and use ‘an economic powerhouse’ in your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think Sam Carling meant when he described his victory as a “political earthquake”?
- How can growing up in “a deprived area” help Sam Carling represent the interests of the people?
- Should young people enter politics? Share your opinion.
- What are the good and bad things about very young politicians?
- How much interest do you think young people in your country have in politics?
- Talk about a very young politician from your country.
2 replies on “UK’s 22-year-old Member of Parliament”
1. What do you think Sam Carling meant when he described his victory as a “political earthquake”?
I think that Carling meant his victory was very surprising because nobody expected it.
2. How can growing up in “a deprived area” help Sam Carling represent the interests of the people?
Growing up in a deprived area helps Carling understand the problems people face. If he knows these problems, he will be able to solve them.
In addition, Carling will be more sensitive to the issues and will better understand the people who live there.
3. Should young people enter politics? Share your opinion.
I don’t like politics because I think it changes people. However, if a young person is interested in politics, I think they should first study and then work in a private company to understand the value of things.
4. What are the good and bad things about very young politicians?
Young people can bring a new perspective and implement political actions with a future vision.
On the other hand, they are exposed to risks that could seriously harm their careers. Their youth and inexperience might make them more susceptible to external influence.
5. How much interest do you think young people in your country have in politics?
They think they know a lot, but in reality, they don’t know much about politics. They may know about political parties, but not about politics itself.
Politics was created to offer solutions to problems that people couldn’t solve on their own. These solutions should be independent of political ideology, but young people don’t seem to understand that.
6. Talk about a very young politician from your country.
There are young people serving as deputies, but none younger than Carling.
Perhaps in some villages, there are very young mayors.
At the moment, in the Congress of Deputies, there are deputies who are around thirty-three or thirty-five years old, but none as young as Carling.
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