Liberal Democrat MP David Laws gave 70 local students a "crash course" in Parliamentary democracy as part of Westminster Day 2002.

The students from the Somerset Youth Service in Crewkerne and Yeovil were joined by pupils from Holyrood School in Chard and Park School in Yeovil to attend a tour of Big Ben, listen to debates in the House of Lords and House of Commons and heard speeches by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy, and Conservative leader Ian Duncan Smith.

After the visit Mr Laws said: "I was delighted to welcome so many people from our area to Westminster. I know that parliamentary proceedings often seem remote and irrelevant to people's daily lives and that is why I really enjoyed talking with these local students about the work that I do and how Parliament works.

"Hopefully these young people will be able to use Parliament and myself more effectively in future - and so make their voices heard."

When asked what Mr Laws felt would have been the most interesting part of the visit for the youngsters he said: "Perhaps the most interesting part of the day was the speeches by the party leaders in which Charles Kennedy proposed the lowering of the voting age to 16.

"I was impressed by the knowledge amongst the young people and, who knows, one day we may even see some of them in the House of Commons as MPs.

"I am keen to help people connect with their Parliament, so would urge anyone who wishes to take a tour or see a debate to contact my London office on 0207 219 8413."