On Friday 28 February 2025, Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament who also serve as UK Youth Parliament Scotland Representatives, attended the latest annual session of the Youth Parliament in the House of Commons in London.
More than 300 MYPs from across the United Kingdom as well as the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies debated motions including:
- 16 and 17 year olds should be allowed to vote in all elections and referendums, accompanied with more political education throughout school
- The National Minimum Wage for every worker under 22 be raised in order to match the National Living Wage for those over 22
- All public transport should be free for young people
- All young people in the UK must have access to a standardised level of political literacy and democratic education to improve engagement in politics on a local, national and international level to develop critical thinking skills
- To establish period dignity, there should be free, accessible, good quality period products available in public spaces for everyone
Following a busy day of debating in the Chamber, Youth Parliament Members voted to prioritise votes at 16 and period dignity as their campaigns in the upcoming year.
Tamsin Gold, UKYP Steering Group Member for Scotland and MSYP for Falkirk West, said:
“I had an amazing time supporting our UKYP Scotland Representatives to speak in the House of Commons and represent their constituents at our annual Sitting. I felt so inspired to watch them all in action! It was interesting to see the event from a different perspective after being a Representative for the last two years. This event allowed our young people to exercise their Article 12 right under the UNCRC in real life in a democratic setting!”
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons said that he was “very proud that this sitting of the UK Youth Parliament will be the most inclusive and exciting yet.”
The event in the UK Parliament coincided with the launch the UK Youth Parliament Manifesto for 2024-2026, ‘Shaping Our Future, Today Not Tomorrow’, which was created by young people at their Annual Conference last year, drawing on the views and issues raised by young people from across the UK.
Daniela Onyewuenyi, UKYP Scotland Representative for West Scotland and MSYP for Paisley, who acted as Scotland’s Debate Lead, said:
“Being voted to be Debate Lead not only allowed me to represent the young people of Paisley and the West of Scotland, but I was given the opportunity to amplify the sentiments of all Scottish young people. I introduced the Motion of a new standardised level of political literacy and democratic education which I believe is a very pertinent issue. To echo my speech, it’s not about establishing a party in a classroom, it is more about creating a safe space where young people can critically think about issues affecting our societies and be able to analyse and, most importantly, understand what happens in our respective Governments.”
For the first time ever a Member of the Youth Parliament made history as the first young person to use British Sign Language to deliver their speech in the House of Commons. A BSL interpreter communicated this via a microphone in the Commons Chamber.
Kristers Lukins, UKYP Scotland Representative for North East Scotland and MSYP for Dundee City West, said:
“I feel really honoured to be invited to come to the House of Commons to deliver my speech on the importance of 16- and 17-year-olds having a vote. I think some young people are quite apathetic when it comes to voting, but there are barriers for lots of young people and there isn’t enough political education to help us understand how to vote. But in Scotland, we have the vote, and we want the rest of the UK to follow suit.
Today I think I was the first BSL user to speak in the Chamber – I feel it is important for the deaf community to show that any young person who uses BSL can do anything!
I really appreciate being part of the team from Scotland and having the support from the Scottish Youth Parliament and the UK Youth Parliament to be able to take part today.”
You can watch all of Team Scotland’s contributions in the House of Commons below via SYP’s YouTube channel:
