Young people from the Caerphilly Youth Forum make their voices heard in London.
Through a General Election Manifesto created by the British Youth Council (BYC), the group has been showing society they care by letting MPs and Prospective Parliamentary Candidates know exactly what they want.
The delegation from Caerphilly Youth Forum (Fern Price, Jamie Maddocks, Ashley-May Williams, Chelsea Birt, Matthew Williams, Shelby Jones, Nia Rolls, Paige Cherrington and Jordan Rees) joined hundreds of young people at a rally in London to launch the Manifesto ‘Our Parliament, Our Vision’.
They outlined the five most important actions that they hope Parliament will take on their behalf:
o Support a National Youth Transport card that offers 16 to 25 year olds a third off public transport fares.
- Reduce the voting age for parliamentary and other public elections to 16 years.
- Create an equal National Minimum Wage for everyone aged over 16.
- Keep the promise to end child poverty by 2020.
- Invest in comprehensive mental health services for young people.
Over 250 young representatives from around the UK debated and voted for the five proposals, from over 600 online submissions.
The three Honorary Presidents of the British Youth Council – Jo Swinson MP, Nigel Evans MP and Natascha Engel MP – are backing the Manifesto and have called on other Parliamentarians to follow their lead and sign up. They have written in its support:
“We believe this initiative will inspire young people across the UK to campaign locally, engage with the politics of the General Election, and work together for positive change in their communities. We call on all those looking to represent their constituencies as a Member of Parliament to use this Manifesto to inspire debate with young people in their local areas. We cannot afford to miss this chance to breathe fresh air into our democracy.”
For further information, please visit the Youth website at http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/youth/
