UK Youth Parliament members elected
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
04/02/2008
New members of youth parliament elected
Two teenagers were elected last week (Thursday) to represent Hammersmith & Fulham in the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP).
Young people from the borough were voting all of last week for local candidates to represent them in the UKYP – the fourth year that such elections have been held here.
Elected as a Member of the UK Youth Parliament (MYP) was Alaa Bahaa, a pupil at Henry Compton School. Joshua Da Costa, a London Oratory School pupil was elected as his deputy.
The UKYP was formed seven years ago by Andrew Rowe MP who realised the importance of youth participation in decision making at all levels.
It aims to give the young people in the UK, between the age of 11 and 18, a voice which will be heard and listened to by local and national government, providers of services for young people and other agencies who have an interest in the views and needs of young people. It is a national body of democratically elected young people which has the support of the three major political parties. It is run as an independent charity and has an annual national sitting as well as regular regional sittings (once a month in London).
Four unnamed candidates aged 13 to 17 were asked to draw up manifestos, which were circulated to other young people at local schools, colleges, youth centres and youth groups. The aim was to get young people to vote on issues and the strength of the candidates’ arguments rather than their personalities or appearances.
Electoral services supplied ballot boxes and polling booths to make the event as realistic as possible. Voting took place throughout last week and the count was held in the small hall at Hammersmith Town Hall. In total, 1,200 young people voted.
The H&F MYPs will be supported by the Borough Youth Forum. The forum was set up by the youth service to give young people a say on local services. MYPs and youth forum members work towards gaining nationally recognised Youth Achievement Awards and attend meetings, training and other activities.
Cllr Antony Lillis, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said, "It is fantastic that so many young people participated in this election. The work of the Borough Youth Forum and MYPs in engaging with the council, police and other community organisations is absolutely superb. I try to meet regularly with the youth forum and MYPs – their views and feedback are vital in helping me to perform my role as cabinet member."
