Youth Parliament United Kingdom

Run by young people, the UK Youth Parliament provides opportunities for 11-18 year-olds to use their voice in creative ways to bring about social change.

The Youth Parliament aims to give the young people of the UK a voice which will be heard and listened to by local and national government, providers of services for young people and other agencies who have an interest in the views and needs of young people.

To become an MYP you have to be elected by other young people in an official UKYP election. Any young person who is a resident of the UK, and aged between 11 and 18 years old (inclusive) has the right to stand for election as an MYP and the right to vote for their MYP.

MYPs get the opportunity to develop skills including:

• Communication skills
• Public speaking skills
• Greater knowledge of politics and current affairs
• The ability to look at an issue from someone else’s perspective
• Debating skills
• Teamwork skills
• Leadership skills
• Organisational skills
• Negotiation skills

A national ballot decides a short list of priorities and the MYPs then vote on the current campaign.