Young voices need to be heard, youth MP says

A member of the youth parliament (MYP) has joined calls for the scheme to be continued as it faces an uncertain future.

The parliament has more than 300 elected members aged between 11 and 18, but the government has not committed to supporting the programme in its current form beyond March 2027.

Ryan Parsons, an MYP from Northumberland, said young people's voices "deserve to be heard", adding: "We are the future and our voices do matter."

The government said it was working with young people and youth organisations to design a new scheme aimed at increasing their involvement in democracy and decision-making, with further announcements to be made this autumn.

The Youth Parliament was launched 26 years ago to boost interest in politics among young people.

Members are elected by their peers, and campaign on issues they are passionate about and which they believe are important to young people.

Once a year, the members are allowed to hold debates in the House of Commons chamber, on a day when MPs are not sitting.

The parliament is run by the National Youth Alliance, and funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) using taxpayers money.

Last year the parliament cost £453,000 to run.

Following a review last year, which found only a quarter of young people knew about the Youth Parliament and some schools felt "excluded from the process", DCMS said it would not commit to continue the programme in its current form.

Ryan, 15, who was elected in February, said he was inspired to put himself forward after seeing Prime Minister's Questions last year.

"I just thought, you know what, I want that to be me one day," he said.

"I want to help people."

Ryan is passionate about campaigning for free bus travel for young people, and improving their mental health.

"Too often young people don't get a say in decisions that are going to affect them in the future," he said.

Since being elected to the Youth Parliament, Ryan has met numerous local politicians including MPs, councillors and the North East Mayor.

He said he was "gutted" when he heard it could be lost.

"I understand the government has to make cuts, but if the government also wants to lower the voting age to 16 then young people have to take part in democracy," he said.

A bill to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 for all UK elections is currently making its way through Parliament.

One former member of the Youth Parliament believes it needs to modernise.

Luke Hall, 21, represented South Tyneside in 2023-24 and is now studying politics at university while working part-time as a parliamentary researcher for Labour Washington and Gateshead South MP Sharon Hodgson.

He said it was a big achievement "for a 16-year-old to be able to go from South Shields down to London and speak in the House of Commons".

However, the youth parliament did have some flaws, he said, mainly around attracting young people in the first place.

"A lot of the people that were involved probably would have been involved in politics and democratic participation anyway," he said.

He said any new model would need to be " truly inclusive" and engage a broader range of secondary and special educational needs schools.

The government said it was working to design a new scheme with a "particular focus on under-represented groups".

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