James and Dermot hit it off at Question Time

Envision Grad James Mummery joined  young people from across the country at First Time Voters' Questions Time hosted by Dermot O’Leary.

The show, aired on BBC3 on March 3rd, included panellists from the three main political parties, as well as comedian Rory Bremner, singer Jamelia and winner of the first series of The Apprentice Tim Campbell.  The audience consisted entirely of young people who had never voted before – including our very own Grad James Mummery who had heard about the opportunity via the Envision Grad network.  James even got the chance to put a comment to the panel, and afterwards met Dermot O’Leary (pictured above).

James said, "The evening was a fun experience. The audience was full of young people from all the over country who all had a real passion for politics, not necessarily a room of people who all wanted to become politicians, but a room of young people who all want to see change happen.  The fact that they had a show focusing on first time voters is a positive sign of trying to reach out to different audiences in the election.  Plus, I've made a new best friend in Dermot O'Leary and we now meet up to watch Arsenal games in the pub!"

With an estimated 56% of 17-25 year olds not registered to vote, the show aimed to explore whether young people really were apathetic when it came to politics.  Apprentice winner Tim Campbell pointed out that “Young people ARE motivated to do stuff,” which was definitely not new news for anyone who has ever worked with Envision!

If you’re 18, make sure you’re registered to vote by going to www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. And to find out more about opportunities such as this, make sure you keep an eye on our Grad Opportunities pages.