KES was delighted to welcome OE Stephen Hammond, the former Conservative MP for Wimbledon, back to his old school to speak to the A Level Politics Society. Having spent some time over lunch speaking with Politics and Economics students about the current state of the UK's political and economic situation, Stephen moved on to a packed 1553 Room where he set about challenging the thinking of our A Level students in numerous ways. Amongst other things, he asked the students to ponder the current state of health of our liberal democracy, whether 'First Past the Post' remains a viable electoral system given the emergence of a multi-party situation, whether the convention of collective responsibility remains relevant and also offering some interesting insights into the early formulation of the HS2 project and his thinking on issues related to government investment. Stephen's visit gave everyone in the audience a developed awareness of how government works and our students will undoubtedly be able to use this to their benefit as they continue their studies.