Mass Presentation of Home Education Petition to Parliament

For many home educating families in England, the evening of Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 proved to be some of the most gripping TV they had ever watched. What was most surprising was this was not the final of the latest reality/audition ‘phone-in and vote’ construct but a late night session of Parliament TV! This was a record breaking event, with 74 MPs taking their turn to formally present Petitions from over 120 constituencies. The MPs were drwn from the three main parties and one independent member of the House. The Petitions and mass presentation was suggested by Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart who is also a member of the Childrens, Schools and Families Select Committee.

The mass presentation broke the record for the number of petitions presented to Parliament on a single issue on any one day. The previous record was 44 petitions presented on 28 March 2006 against cuts and closures to community hospitals.

For those who would like to read what was said the official Hansard record starts here, and Graham Stuart’s speech is here.

Four videos are available of the 19 minute session and these are below.

First five minutes: Mr Deputy Speaker & Graham Stuart.