Media release
[insert date of release], for immediate release
Member of Youth Parliament for [insert area] to debate in Commons
Chamber
[X-year-old Name] from [area] will join over 300 elected members of Youth Parliament at a
national debate in the House of Commons on Friday 15th November 2013, to decide the UK
Youth Parliament’s priority campaigns for 2014.
[Insert para with a bit more detail about the young person here, including school/college, when
they were elected etc].
The debate, chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons Rt. Hon John Bercow MP and
broadcast live on BBC Parliament, will focus on the top five issues chosen by more than 478,000
young people in the UK Youth Parliament’s Make Your Mark ballot earlier this year. At the end
of the five debates, Members of Youth Parliament will vote to decide which two issues will
become their national campaigns for 2014. The five issues up for debate are:
-
A curriculum to prepare us for life, which was chosen as the UK Youth Parliament’s
national campaign in 2013
Zero tolerance towards bullying in schools
Better work experience and careers advice
Combating youth unemployment
Votes for 16 and 17 year olds in all public elections
This debate marks the start of Parliament Week – an annual national awareness week which
aims to build greater understanding and engagement with parliamentary democracy in the UK.
It is the fifth time that the UK Youth Parliament has debated in the House of Commons
Chamber and they are the only group, other than MPs, allowed to do so.
Each debate topic will be introduced with speeches from regionally elected Members of Youth
Parliament, who will put forward arguments for and against the issue becoming their campaign,
before opening up to the floor. Following the five debates, each Member of Youth Parliament in
the Chamber will vote for their top two issues. Ballot papers will be collected and counted by
House of Commons staff, and the result will be announced by the Speaker of the House of
Commons at the end of the event.
[Name] said:
“[You can include a short quote from the MYP here – perhaps about how much they are looking
forward to the debate and what they have been doing to prepare]”
- 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 Thomas Hannan, Communications Officer at the British
Youth Council: thomas.hannan@byc.org.uk / 0207 250 8376 / 07886597433
Notes to Editors
1) The UK Youth Parliament House of Commons debate will take place on 15 November
2012. The debate will start 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 will finish at 4.00pm, and will be broadcast live on BBC
Parliament and recorded in Hansard.
2) On 16 March 2009, 189 Members of Parliament voted to allow the UK Youth Parliament
to debate in the House of Commons, with 16 votes of opposition. 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. In 2010 a debate was held in Parliament to discuss the possibility of the UK Youth
Parliament returning for a second sitting. This resulted in the decision to allow their
return not only for that year, but every year for the remainder of the sitting of the
current parliament.
3) Last year’s winning topic was ‘A curriculum to prepare us for life’ which subsequently
became the subject of a Youth Select Committee inquiry. For more information about
the Youth Select Committee visit: http://www.byc.org.uk/uk-work/youth-selectcommittee.aspx. To watch footage of last year's UK Youth Parliament House of
Commons debate visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqYdnF8EIpI
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 20th August 2013 until 12th 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 478,000 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