Shropshire young people join House of Commons debate
Students from Shropshire joined with 330 Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) in the House of Commons to debate the issues and needs of young people.
Supported by Shropshire Council, county MYPs James Ellsmoor and Olivia Barber took part in the debate on Friday 4 November 2011 to discuss a range of topics and determine the focus and priorities of the UK Youth Parliament’s (UKYP) national campaign for the forthcoming year. James narrowly missed out on opening the debate after being shortlisted for the honour.
Councillor Aggie Caesar-Homden, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for education and skills, said:
“Shropshire’s MYPs work extremely hard to ensure that young people have a voice at a local and national level. They have done a fantastic job in representing the county’s young people at this debate.
“Our MYPs are very active in helping the council to decide its priorities and scrutinise its work, and I am proud of all of their achievements. We would encourage more young people to influence policies on a range of issues and stand in the 2012 Shropshire MYP elections.”
Among the topics discussed during the House of Commons debate were public transport for young people, a graduate tax as an alternative to tuition fees, and zero tolerance towards bullying in schools. A record-breaking 65,000 young people voted to pick the five topics to be debated.
The debate was chaired by the Speaker, Rt Hon John Bercow MP, following opening remarks from the Leader of the House, Rt Hon Sir George Young MP, and Shadow Leader Maria Eagle MP. MYPs also met the Children’s Minister Tim Loughton MP and the Leader of the Opposition, Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP. The MYPs also called for a response from the relevant Government ministers.
MYP James Ellsmoor said:
“The event was a wonderful opportunity to experience the strength of democracy in action. I was particularly pleased that public transport was voted as the most important motion, as this is a particular issue in a rural community like Shropshire. This has also been our regional (West Midlands) campaign, and I think it is something in which we can really make a difference through lobbying the Government and local councils.
“John Bercow has pledged to raise the matter and try and organise a debate on the issue in Parliament. It was pleasing to see that politicians really do listen to young people, and I was impressed by the number of MPs that turned up to support their MYPs.”
The event marked the finale of Parliament Week – a new annual national awareness week, which aims to build greater awareness, understanding and engagement with parliamentary democracy in the UK.
The UKYP is run by young people for young people. Shropshire has two MYPs and two deputies, who ensure that young people’s views are heard and influence policies on a range of issues which affect them.
To find out more about Shropshire MYPs, and the 2012 county MYP elections,which take place in February 2012, go to www.shropshireyouth.com, call Shropshire Council’s customer insight team on 01743 210415 or email dawn.lewis@shropshire.gov.uk or lorraine.warrender@shropshire.gov.uk.
For more information about the UK Youth Parliament and the work of MYPs nationally go to www.ukyp.org.uk
