SOMERSET MP and Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg imparted his wisdom to students in Street this week.

During his visit to Strode College, Mr Rees-Mogg detailed his role in Parliament and answered questions from students about a variety of topics. The event allowed A Level Politics, Law and Sociology students to get a better understanding of what goes into running the country and how that affects the society we live in.

Questions from the students included one on the recent Supreme Court ruling that government should return to parliament.

His response was that the government has the greatest respect for the ruling and though they were entitled to disagree with the judgement it was fundamentally wrong to criticise judges individually.

Another question that resonated with students was how his Eton education had affected his life prospects and whether it gave him an unfair advantage.

Responding to this, Mr Rees-Mogg stated that we are all privileged to have the education that we have, adding that for every door that was opened by Eton, others were closed.

He also commented that what should inspire us to focus on our education was that there are people in the world who do not have the same opportunities, and some are currently fighting for the right to an education.

A question that divided a lot of students was whether 16-year olds should have the right to vote.

As the audience was primarily made up of 16-year olds, when voting on this at the event, the outcome was a majority saying ‘yes’.

But when Mr Rees-Mogg asked if students would agree with 16-year olds going to war among other things, this proved quite different, with the majority voting ‘no’.

So this showed that having a vote at 16 and agreeing to other rights like going to war at the same age resulted in different answers.

Another question that students connected with was the growing focus on mental health.

The good news is parliament are aware of the issues and are working out ways to tackle them, although nothing is currently scheduled for debate. Mental health is at the front of all political parties’ minds and plans.

As a society we must look for more timely support. Such news was well received by students as many are concerned about the rising pressures younger generations feel society has put on them.

Asked about his thoughts on the current education system, Mr Rees-Mogg had a lot of genuinely refreshing points that were important to take on board. For example that education was not all about passing exams but is also about a broader understanding of life. He said he encourages young people to live their life more independently. However, it was important to note that we need exams to move on to the next stage of life. This attitude resonated with many students as the freedom of college allows them to manage their own time as well as becoming more independent.

Another highlight of the talk was about making the record books with the use of the word ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’ in the House of Commons - now the longest word in Hansard (during parliamentary proceedings).

The Conservative MP told students that the 29-letter word meant the act or habit of estimating as worthless, and that it was a good way to draw the attention of anyone who is not listening fully, which did draw some laughter.

A spokesman for Strode College said: "Overall, it was fantastic to have such a high profile politician to visit the College and answer questions from the students. One student commented that he thought the talk was very interesting and found it enabled him to know more about parliament and what happens in it."