The UK Youth Parliament, including three members from North Yorkshire, has chosen to focus on lowering the voting age to 16 and a curriculum for life in 2018. The decision came following the Youth Parliament’s ninth House of Commons debate, which was chaired by the Speaker, John Bercow MP.
The issues were two of the five topics chosen for debate by people aged 11 to 18 in the Make Your Mark national ballot.
A vote at 16 continues to be an important issue for young people and has been voted as a campaign priority for the second year in a row. Members of Youth Parliament are set to formally launch the campaigns during their day of action in January. The Youth Parliament will now begin to develop actions for the campaigns ahead.
The North Yorkshire Members of the Youth Parliament (MYPs) are Kitty Jackson, who lives in the Scarborough area and represents the east of the county, around Malton and Scarborough, Eden Shackleton, from the Ripon area, who represents the west, around Harrogate and Skipton and Evie Stevenson, who is from the Selby area and represents the central area, around Northallerton, Richmond and Selby.
They took part in the debate with more than 500 members of the Youth Parliament from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Kitty said:
I had a fantastic time representing North Yorkshire East in the House of Commons. It was a great day and I learned a lot about government and the rules of Parliament. I was honoured to be chosen by John Bercow to speak about public transport for children with disabilities and special educational needs.
The Youth Parliament voted for Curriculum for Life and Votes at 16 to be the campaigns for the next year and I can’t wait to get started.
The UK Youth Parliament also welcomed Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, as well as the Minister for Sport and Civil Society, Tracey Crouch, who spoke about the involvement of young people in politics.
North Yorkshire County Councillor Patrick Mulligan, Executive Member for Education and Skills, said: “The youth parliamentarians from North Yorkshire are playing a very important role on the national stage, representing the concerns of the county’s young people.’’
For more information in the work of the British Youth Parliament visit http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/ or to speak to someone about the work of MYPs in North Yorkshire contact Kevin.Jeffrey@northyorks.gov.uk or call 01609 535931.
