Between 14th and 16th July 2025, four MSYPs travelled to London to take part in the launch of A Roadmap to Votes at 16, published by the Democracy Classroom Network. Alannah Logue MSYP (Na h-Eileanan an Iar), Ben Moore MSYP (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) Namatai Chakona MSYP (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse), and Sophie Kerrigan MSYP (Stirling) tell us more about their adventures in this blog!
“Last month, myself and other MSYPs travelled to London to campaign on the vital issue of votes at 16. The first day was spent in Brixton, working with young people from advocacy organisations all across the UK, doing workshops and focus groups to explore different policies and methods.” – Ben
“We attended a workshop, where we got to meet other young people campaigning for votes at 16, listen to researchers talk about the work they have done around democracy and how votes at 16 would benefit the UK.” – Alannah
“The next day was the launch of the Roadmap to Votes at 16, at the House of Commons in Westminster. As well as the young people who were at the workshop, lots of different people were involved, like politicians, the media, people who work in education, and so many different people who have a say in different parts of the system. We had a drop-in event where we could speak to lots of different people. After that, young people from different groups presented the recommendations in the Roadmap.” – Namatai
“Namatai and I presented recommendation 2, which calls for support for educators and youth practitioners to deliver excellent democratic education. We talked about how, in Scotland, we’ve had votes at 16 for over ten years. When the legislation first passed, there was lots of funding and support for democratic education. But when the funding ended, the projects stopped. Young people spend so much time in formal and non-formal education, so if we support youth workers and educators with resources, training and long-term funding, it gives them more confidence to help us find the information we need.” – Sophie
“We spent the second day in the Parliament building, running a drop in event for MPs, allowing us to advocate for votes at 16. We met with MP’s, ministers, experts, journalists and lots of other very interesting people who shared their valuable insights. Though we had a busy few days, we also squeezed in some sightseeing around London and even a cheeky gelato!” – Ben
“I definitely developed networking skills at this event, particularly speaking to new people about the work that we do. It made me feel very proud to be part of SYP as an organisation!” – Alannah
“This trip certainly helped me develop my communication skills, as I feel I spent the whole two days in productive conversation with someone! It also helped me develop skills in advocacy, and how to persuade decision makers to take action that is beneficial to young people.” – Ben
“This trip gave me so much confidence. I spoke to lots of people I never thought I would be able to speak to. I even spoke to the Minister of Democracy after her speech; that felt amazing, it was very cool. I had to give myself a little pep talk before I spoke to her, but I did it!” – Namatai
“Without young people taking these causes to decision makers and persuading them of their worthwhileness, we can never expect them to take action and develop policy that will benefit us. Young people must be involved in the decisions affecting their lives, and this opportunity was a perfect way to have a say on behalf of our constituents!” – Ben
“It is important for us to be in these spaces because we are the ones who are voting at 16. We need to tell adults what we want, why votes at 16 is so important, and how much we want it. When they hear directly from us, they’ll realise how important it is and the positive impact it will have. We have votes at 16 in Scotland, and every time we spoke to someone at the event, we emphasised how important it is, and they all had positive things to say!” – Namatai
Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says young people have the right to have their views heard and taken seriously by decision makers.” – Sophie
“If adults who work with young people aren’t supported to create spaces for meaningful participation in events like this and in democratic processes while we are young, we are less likely to take part as we grow up.” – Sophie
“Opportunities like this are important for young people to be involved in because we need to be at the centre of this conversation! Everyone that attended did a brilliant job, so I’m very proud of the MSYPs that attended alongside me!” – Alannah
“I hope other young people will be inspired by our experience. Advocating is important to make sure decision-makers hear what young people want to change, and we saw the impact – the UK Government announced the very next day that they’ll be introducing Votes at 16 across all UK elections! This shows young people’s voices can have an impact, so never stop advocating for the change you want.” – Namatai
“It’s really exciting that votes at 16 is going to be introduced across the UK, but voting is only the first step towards democratic engagement. If we really want young people to feel genuinely engaged in civil life, teachers and youth workers must be supported to help us learn about the whole process, not just that first step.” – Sophie
