According
to my mum, when you asked me as a child what I wanted to be as an adult I would
reply (un-ironically) “Prime Minister!”. Whilst my lofty ambitions have
tempered somewhat since then, politics, the way it shapes people’s lives and
opportunities, remains extremely close to my heart.
I am
especially passionate about issues surrounding child poverty and seeking
solutions to this injustice. I have been involved in a number of educational
projects volunteering with young people from economically deprived backgrounds.
I also had the opportunity to work on a project last summer, which carried out
research surrounding the impacts of Covid-19 on education and its part in
deepening inequality. I am driven by a desire to ensure the dignity of the
people that systems of wealth and power often forget.
I have just graduated from studying theology at Cambridge which taught me so much about myself. Primarily, I discovered that I am really very bad at New Testament Greek! More importantly, I became convinced that to be a follower of Jesus is about so much more than turning up at church or speaking the right Christian language to your peers – it is about building the Kingdom. In Jesus, we meet someone who welcomes the stranger, who loves his enemies and gives generously. I was once told by a supervisor at university that I had to “cut the compassion” in my essay about Jesus. Yet, the more I read of Jesus, the more I am resolved that love and compassion are right at the core of who he was. To build the Kingdom, then, is to seek to realise this compassion at every level of society, from the relational to the political.
This duel belief in the power of politics and a faith in a compassionate Messiah have led me to JPIT. I cannot wait to get stuck in as the Labour parliamentary intern this year. Thus far, most of what I know about the inner-workings of politics comes from watching The Thick of It. So I am excited to gain an insight into this fascinating world (and hopefully be part of a kinder, gentler politics). With JPIT I will be particularly throwing myself into work around the Nationality and Borders Bill and thinking about what it looks like to truly welcome the stranger. JPIT’s commitment to justice and the dignity of each individual is what gets me up in the morning (and on the train to Marylebone).
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