Nearly half a million young people make their mark

Members of Youth Parliament (MYP) Harry Samuels, Matt Currie, Shannon Kowalski and Claudia Marshall for Plymouth along with MYPs across the South West have been working tirelessly to enable young people to Make Their Mark and have a voice by visiting youth clubs, schools, town centres, and colleges with ballot papers getting young people to vote on the issues they feel strongly about.

This UK-wide ballot gave young people aged 11-18 the chance to decide what Members of Youth Parliament should debate and vote on – during their sitting in the House of Commons this November – to be their campaign for the year ahead.

The voting closed on 11 October and the results are in across the whole of the United Kingdom 478,000 young people made their mark with Harry Samuels collecting 1951, Matt Currie collecting 2169 ballots and Claudia Marshall collecting 1,000 from young people in Plymouth. The South West collected 43,367 ballots with 5,120 young people in Plymouth filling out a ballot form.

Councillor Nicky Williams, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We’re really proud of our Youth Parliament members and deputies who managed to collect over 5,100 votes on behalf of young people in Plymouth. That’s really impressive and took a lot of hard work and dedication. They are really fantastic advocates for our city and I wish them well on their trip to the House of Commons.”

Harry Samuels, 17, Member of UK Youth Parliament for Plymouth attends Devonport High for Boys said: "I feel literally amazed that I managed to get over 1,000 ballot papers and the young people of Plymouth got to have their say."

Matt Currie, 17, Member of UK Youth Parliament for Plymouth attends Sir John Hunt Community Sports College said: "I feel fantastic that I managed to collect over 1,000 ballots. It is such a gratifying feeling to know that I am championing the voice of young people in Plymouth. Getting involved to the Make Your Mark campaign gives young people a chance to really make a difference both locally and nationally."

Shannon Kowalski, 17, Deputy Member of UK Youth Parliament for Plymouth attends Lipson Co-operative Academy said: "It is important for young people to vote in the Make Your Mark campaign because I believe everyone deserves to have a say in matters that will affect them."

The top five issues that have been chosen by young people for young people are:

16 and 17 year olds are, by law, able to make complex decisions and take on wide ranging responsibilities. It’s time to give votes for 16 and 17 year olds in all public elections and referendums.
Every school pupil should have the opportunity to participate in better work experience for a minimum of one week in a field of their choice, as well as access to opportunities linking them to professionals to help inspire.
To combat youth unemployment we believe that every local authority that faces youth unemployment rates of 20% or more should have to put into place a strategy for tackling this problem that includes investment in jobs, apprenticeships and internships.
There should be a zero tolerance policy to bullying in schools written by students in consultation with teachers and relevant professionals that includes advice and peer support for both the victim and the bully and better training for staff about bullying.
The national curriculum should be a curriculum to prepare us for life, developing young people’s knowledge across a range of topics including politics, sex and relationships education, cultural awareness, community cohesion and finance.

To mark the start of Parliament Week on 15 November 2013 Harry Samuels and Matt Currie will be joining Members of Youth Parliament from all over the UK to debate the top four issues chosen by young people in the ‘Make Your Mark’ ballot. The debate will take place in the House of Commons which will be chaired by Rt. Hon John Bercow MP. At the HOC one topic will be chosen to be UKYP’s national campaign for 2013. Last year the debate was attended by Children’s Minister Edward Timpson MP.