Victory for UK Youth Parliament - now finally allowed to debate in Commons
The controversial debate has raged since July 2007 but this month the motion to allow the UK Youth Parliament to meet in the House of Commons was finally passed. This will be the first time in history that the chamber will have been used by anyone other than members of the lower house. The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) is an elected body of 11-18 year olds. It gives young people a voice which is heard and listened to by local and national government as well as all other agencies interested in the views of young people.
Some of the more traditional parliamentarians had suggested that the proposal was just a ‘trendy’ gimmick to appeal to the youth vote. Some had argued that allowing teenagers to sit on the renowned green benches would undermine the sanctity of the Commons.
Shadow children's minister Tim Loughton said MPs had nothing to worry about: "Are we seriously thinking that we will have UKYP members leaving gum under the seats, swinging from the chandeliers, having to install juke boxes and that we are going to have a major chav riot in the place?" he said. "No, of course that isn't going to happen."
In the end, 205 MPs backed the plan and just 17 opposed it. MPs may have been influenced by the argument that they would have looked incredibly old-fashioned had they not allowed members of the UKYP to meet in the Commons given that last year they met in the House of Lords.
The one-off meeting is expected to take place this summer.
Bridget Wright, Citizenship Education Programme