Media release
[insert date of release], for immediate release
Member of Youth Parliament for [insert area] to debate in
Commons Chamber
[Name, X-years-old] Member of Youth Parliament for [area] joined almost 300 elected
Members of Youth Parliament at a national debate in the House of Commons on Friday
13th November 2015, to decide the UK Youth Parliament’s priority campaigns for 2016.
[Insert para with a bit more detail about the young person here, including school/college,
when they were elected etc].
Working together to combat racism and religious discrimination, particularly against
people who are Muslim and Jewish, has today been chosen the issue as its national
campaign for 2015 and Mental health was chosen as the UK Youth Parliament’s priority
campaign for England.
These motions were two of five debated by the UK Youth Parliament in the House of
Commons chamber this afternoon, Friday 13 November, chaired by Speaker of the
House of Commons the Rt Hon John Bercow MP.
The votes cast were:
UK Wide:
 Working together to combat racism and religious discrimination: 155
 Everyone should be paid at least the Living Wage: 117
Devolved:
 Mental health services should be improved with our help: 176
 A curriculum to prepare us for life: 110
 Make public transport cheaper, better and accessible for all: 33
A total of 279 Members of Youth Parliament aged 11-18 took part in the debates, the
subjects for which were voted for by 969,992 young people across the UK in the annual
UK Youth Parliament Make Your Mark ballot.
The Speaker Rt Hon. John Bercow MP, who presided over by the debates said:
“Welcoming the Youth Parliament for their annual sitting in the has become one of the
House of Common’s most pleasant traditions. Almost a million young people across the
United Kingdom participated in this year’s vote, and I am pleased that they are taking
advantage of the opportunity to make their voices heard in the heart of democracy in
ever increasing numbers.”
[Name, X-years-old], Member of Youth Parliament for [area] said: “[You can include a
short quote from the MYP here – with reference to the new campaigns and the event
itself]”
– ENDS –
Media contacts
Local authority
For interviews requests with the Member of Youth Parliament contact [insert local
authority press contact details here]
UK Youth Parliament
For more information about the debate (including requests to attend), or to find out more
about the UK Youth Parliament, contact Rhammel Afflick, Communications and Media
Officer at the British Youth Council: rhammel.afflick@byc.org.uk / 0207 250 8376 /
07985 260 337
Notes to Editors
1) Images of the Members of Youth Parliament in the chamber can be found here:
https://parliament.assetbank-server.com/assetbankparliament/images/assetbox/444b0ecf-01af-4aad-9c1907558861a9a2/assetbox.html. Images may be used free of charge – however,
they must not be edited or altered in any way. All images must be credited - ©
UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor or © UK Parliament/Roger Harris as noted on the
site.
2) The UK Youth Parliament House of Commons debate will took place on 13
November 2015. The debate started at 11.00am with an introduction and
welcome from the Speaker of the House of Commons Rt. Hon John Bercow MP,
who will also be chairing the debate. The debate finished at 4.00pm, and was
broadcast live on BBC Parliament, BBC Democracy Live and recorded in
Hansard.
3) In 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that the UK Youth Parliament
should be allowed to sit in the House of Commons. Two years later, on 16 March
2009, Members of Parliament voted to allow the UK Youth Parliament to debate
in the Chamber. The UK Youth Parliament first debated in the House of
Commons Chamber on Friday 30 October 2009, which was the first time in
history that the Chamber was used by a group other than MPs. The following
year MPs voted to allow the UK Youth Parliament to hold yearly debates for the
rest of the 2010-2015 Parliament. In July 2015 a new debate was held to discuss
the possibility of the UK Youth Parliament returning for the remainder new
Parliament. This resulted in the decision to allow their return until 2020 – marking
over a decade of yearly youth debates in the House of Commons.
4) The UK Youth Parliament’s ‘Make Your Mark’ ballot was open to all young
people aged 11-18 in the UK, and took place between 12th August 2013 until 9th
October 2013. Ballot papers were delivered to local authorities, schools, and
youth clubs across the UK, and young people could also cast their vote online. A
record 968,091 young people voted in the ballot.
5) The UK Youth Parliament gives young people a voice on issues that matter to
them. It is made up of over 600 Members, and Deputy Members, who are elected
by their peers to represent young people across the UK. They work to ensure
that the voices of young people are heard at a national, regional and local level.
For more information about the UK Youth Parliament visit:
http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/
6) After working in partnership for many years, the British Youth Council took over
the management of the UK Youth Parliament in April 2011. The charity also runs
the Young Mayor Network and Local Youth Council Network. To find out more
about the British Youth Council visit: www.byc.org.uk