Since gaining responsibility for youth policy in July, civil society minister Nick Hurd has been adamant that he wants young people to have a voice.
Therefore, Hurd was no doubt delighted to sit among 293 UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) members at the House of Commons for their annual debate, which was chaired by Speaker of the House John Bercow, on 15 November.
The aim of the annual event – first held in 1999 – was to choose UKYP's campaign for 2014.
The topics debated by UKYP members – a curriculum to prepare young people for life; zero tolerance towards bullying in schools; combating youth unemployment; better work experience and careers advice; and lowering the voting age to 16 - were identified by 478,000 young people during UKYP's annual Make Your Mark ballot, nearly double the number that voted last year.
Pros and cons
Taking each topic in turn, UKYP members articulated the pros and cons in a manner that led Hurd to conclude that the young people involved in the debates "represent arguably the most compassionate, socially responsible and entrepreneurial generation this country has produced for a long time".
In each case, a motion was moved and opposed by young parliamentarians before Bercow opened the floor to the backbenchers. After the debates, which lasted for more than three hours in total, Bercow directed UKYP members out of the chamber to vote for their devolved and reserved campaigns for 2014.
Bercow revealed that a curriculum to prepare young people for life received 136 votes, ahead of zero tolerance towards bullying in schools (42 votes) and better work experience and careers advice (115), meaning it would continue as UKYP's devolved campaign for a second year.
He then revealed that lowering the voting age to 16 had been selected as UKYP's UK-wide issue after receiving 217 votes, an announcement met with a standing ovation from UKYP members.
Liam Cutler, vice-chair of the British Youth Council, is thrilled with the outcome and keen to start working on the campaigns.
"This is possibly one of the best we have had so far in terms of the themes of the debates - it's just unparalleled," he says.
"I do think young people need to get their voice heard more in society. We, the young people, will run this country one day and need to have a voice."
With regard to UKYP's devolved issue, Cutler, who is currently studying Economics at Brunel University, says UKYP members will build on the work they have already done on the campaign, which calls for a youth-led review of the curriculum in order to better develop young people's political knowledge, cultural awareness, finance skills and sustainable living.
The 19-year-old says it is vital that UKYP members examine which aspects of the campaign have worked over the past year and which elements have been less successful.
Raising awareness
On the topic of lowering the voting age to 16, Cutler finds it particularly encouraging that both Labour and the Liberal Democrats include the issue in their manifestos in the run-up to the 2015 election.
"All it would take now is just raising awareness of the issue and debate in Parliament, and I personally think we could have it by the end of the next year."
He is hopeful that both campaigns will be successful thanks to ministerial support from both Hurd and Natascha Engel, who promised to put the debated issues before Labour's backbench business committee of which she is chair.
"I am really pleased that we have two key figures supporting the work we do," Cutler says. "I would urge them to keep going and keep supporting UKYP because without ministerial support we are effectively powerless."
COMMENTS ON THE UKYP MOTIONS THAT WERE DEBATED
- A curriculum to prepare young people for life: "We should focus on life skills rather than achieving good grades which is current government policy."
- A curriculum to prepare young people for life: "Is it possible to do any more on this? We have written to Michael Gove - he's neither listened to nor responded to any of our letters."
- Zero tolerance to bullying: "We should be standing up for young people because that is what we are here for and it would make a world of difference to the young people who are feeling alone."
- Combating youth unemployment: "The issue is not how prepared we are, the issue is if we actually have a job at the end of that preparation."
- Better work experience and careers advice: "No one has the right education, no one knows what they are going to be when they are older. The fact that a lot of young people are being forced to go into placements where they are doing nothing beneficial to them is quite bad."
- Lowering the voting age to 16: "It's such a big responsibility for us to have. I am for votes for 16-year-olds but some people don't understand the responsibility that comes with it."
- Lowering the voting age to 16: "At 16 you can marry your MP, have kids with them and pay their expenses - but you can't vote for them."
