In Westminster with Andrew Elliott, North East organiser, Nathan Van Doorn (Hexham)and Tom Brookes (Morpeth).
Today I attended the House of Commons and listened in the chamber to the annual sitting of the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP). UKYP has been going for the last ten years, giving a voice to young people across the UK. It consists of 600 members aged 11-18 representing all regions of the UK. Members are elected annually across the UK with over one million young people voting in the last two years. It gives its members the chance to organise events and run campaigns affecting the youth of today, whilst influencing key decision makers.
John Bercow MP, the Speaker of the House of Commons presided over debates on various issues including Tuition Fees, Bullying in Schools, Transport, Child Poverty and Green Issues.I know that Tom and Nathan really enjoyed the experience.
To his credit the Speaker ran the debate really well: there is no doubt that the UK Youth Parliament has shown that it is here to stay, and with very good reason!