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GIVING YOUNG PEOPLE A VOICE! |
Belinda wins race to become new MYP
7th February 2008
REPORT BY JOSHUA McTAGGART
AFTER a flurry of voting across North Somerset, with months of campaigning finally over, the new North Somerset Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) and their deputy MYP were elected.
Belinda Hill, of Broadoak Mathematics and Computing College in Weston, was voted in as MYP with 101 votes and she was closely followed by Tom Follet, of Churchill Sixth Form, who gained 97 points which earned him the position of deputy MYP.
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• Belinda and Tom. |
Votes were cast at youth clubs across the area from Portishead and Pill to Churchill and Congresbury.
Youth Matters caught up with your two new representatives at the election result ceremony held on January 29 at The Barn in Clevedon.
Belinda, aged 12, expressed great thanks for being voted in. She told us: "I am really shocked, I didn't expect to win!
"But I am really pleased that everyone believed in me and my ideas. I'd like to thank all of those people who voted for me."
Talking about her campaigns for the year, Belinda explained her plan of action.
"Well, I had five main campaigns I wanted to focus on, however I know getting cheaper bus fares and improving SRE are major issues for everyone, so that will be my focus for now."
Tom Follett, aged 16, was just as pleased to win the role of deputy, telling Youth Matters: "Now I can put my ideas into action and start getting young people the respect they deserve in society."
When Youth Matters caught up with Belinda before the election she said she plans to focus on three things - the price of buses, recycling and improving sex education.
Tom shared the same aims and said he also wants to get young people more respect, to be treated with justice rather than like second class citizens and to have equality in areas like public transport and education.
All six candidates had a fantastic election and the North Somerset Youth Parliament would like to thank all the young people who took their time to vote for their MYP in this year's election.
• Lauren Fry was in the role of MYP way back in 2006, and with the Youth Parliament undertook one of its biggest local challenges - to try to improve the image of young people in the media.
Into the term of office of Joshua McTaggart, Youth Matters finally became a reality, and nearly a year later we are still going from strength to strength, covering prominent national issues like knife crime and sex and relationship education, as well as local issues like the dissatisfaction at the poor bus service.
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