Home > UKYP at the House of Lords

07.05.2008

On Friday 2nd May, Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) made history by debating in the House of Lords chamber. 

MYPs used the opportunity to debate and vote for the UK Youth Parliament’s three national campaigns for the year ahead.

It was an absolutely amazing day – not just for the young people in attendance and for UK Youth Parliament, but for society in general, as the magnificent debates showed just how much young people care about their communities, and how much they want to help make a difference.

After two hours of debating, MYPs cast their vote for their top three campaigns. 

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The result

1. Your Future, Your World, Your Fight - recycling / environment campaign (490 votes)

2. National public transport concession card for young people under the age of 18 (425 votes)

3. Abolish university tuition fees (252 votes)

4. Fair and accurate representation of young people in the media (192 votes)

5. Lowering the voting age to 16 (127 votes)

6. One single age at which young people are deemed to become an adult (55 votes)

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Speaking after the event, Baroness Helene Hayman, who chaired the debate said:

“The quality of the debate today has been fantastic. We don't hear the sounds of clapping in this Chamber often. What really impressed me was the courage of people who stood up and took a position which was not the view of the majority - and the respect that you all showed to everyone's viewpoints." 

MYPs will now develop the top three campaigns at the UK Youth Parliament Annual Sitting in Exeter in July.

Watch the debate

Click on an image below to watch that particular part of the debate:

Introduction	Tuition fees	Media	Votes at 16
Public transport	Adulthood	Recycling	The result

All material parliamentary copyright © 2007-2008. To purchase the full DVD of the debate at the House of Lords please contact The Parliamentary Recording Unit at pru@parliament.uk or on 020 7219 5511.

Liveblog

You can read what happened in the debate in our fantastic LiveBlog! Just go to the following web address: http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/hol_liveblog

Campaign Films

Six short films have been made to highlight the importance of each campaign idea. Click on an image to watch the film.

Tuition fees	Media	Votes at 16
Public transport	Age of adulthood	Recycling

Photographs

Click on an image to view the photograph.

(c) Parliamentary copyright.  Photography by Terry Moore.