Gillian was given a warm welcome by the members of 1st Westbourne Scout Troop on Friday night as they celebrated their latest win at the Chichester District Scouts Shooting Competition. She awarded the trophy before speaking about her career in politics and the work she does on behalf of the people of Chichester.
This is the first time in living memory that Westbourne has won the competition, beating eight other district Scout groups. The team from Westbourne was also the youngest in the competition, making their win even more impressive.
With the shooting cup now in the bag, the troop, which welcomes members aged between 10½ and 14, turned to discussing what badge they would look to achieve next. Scouts can work towards over 70 badges, ranging from traditional pursuits like angling and orienteering to modern additions such as digital skills and street sports.
Given their political audience that evening it was decided that the only way to agree was to hold a Westminster-style debate. The Scouts split into a ‘government’ and ‘opposition’ and erected a dispatch box to spar over the pros and cons of completing their Sports Enthusiast Activity Badge.
After each side had made their arguments, a free vote was held with the government winning a clear majority. The scouts will now need to demonstrate their interest and knowledge of a favourite sport, show an understanding of the rules, and describe a recent major event, championship or landmark.
As a veteran of the House of Commons dispatch box, Gillian watched on and coached the scouts. Afterwards she commented: “It was wonderful to see the passionate arguments made by both sides of the troop. It’s clear that we not only have some budding athletes in Westbourne but also some future Members of Parliament too!”
Simon Bartlett, the Westbourne Scouts section leader, said afterwards: “We were excited to welcome Gillian to 1st Westbourne Scout Group. Our Scouts had recently taken part in UK Parliament week and Gillian was able to answer lots of questions the Scouts had about Parliament and a wide variety of local issues.”
