Breakfast with Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.

I had quite an exciting opportunity recently, where I had the chance to question the Prime Minister along with fourteen other young people in the infamous Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street. The interview was part of a project run in partnership by the Cabinet Office, Government, Livity and Bebo called 'Bebo's Big Think'. You can read about it and watch a ten minute edit of the interview on the big think profile page or watch it below.



In the hour Q & A with the Prime Minister we asked fifteen questions on topics such as lowering the voting age to 16 and reforming the national minimum wage. I asked about reforming the minimum wage age boundaries to which the PM said that the upper milit is being lowered to 21 next year and there is to be discussion to bring the 16 - 18 boundary to a fairer level which I think is a start. The PM told us he definitely supports lowering the age to 16 so we'll see what he pulls out of the bag in the run up to the general election next year. If you would like to support loweing the age to 16 you should join the campaign at www.votesat16.org.uk.


You can check out my question here


For some other videos of questions click here.

The meeting with the Prime Minister is part of his new Building Britain's Future initiative which outlines how he wants to rebuild the country "to respond to the economic downturn and together build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous country." Read more about it here.

I think Building's Britain's Future is a good attempt at turning this country but some of the PM's plans for yong people are quite contraversial such as complusory voluntary service which defeats the object of it being voluntary. I love volunteering but being forced to do it is not the same thing. It will create a nation of young people who have all completed some act of charity and therefore will need another factor to set them apart from the rest. The government have not yet explained what young people will have to do to complete their fifty hours of comunity service or how it will be monitored. I like the idea of introducing young people tovoluntary work but I am not convinced it should be compulsory. You can read more about the PM's investing in young people's plans here.