Warwickshire youth parliament results revealed

Young people from schools across the county cast 13,902 votes in this year’s youth parliament elections.

On Thursday February 9 young people gathered at Shire Hall in Warwick for the results of this year’s VOX youth council and Youth Parliament elections.

This year Jessica Richardson from Poleworth School, Charlie Thomas from Queen Elizabeth School in Atherstone, Ajay Bawa from Campion School, in Leamington, and Nick Andrews from Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby, were all elected as the county’s new Members to the UK Youth Parliament (MYPs).

The four new elected deputies are Ellie-Mae Pugh from Etone College, Hassan Khan from Higham Lane School, Morgan Stichcombe from Ashlawn School and Curtis Kay from Hartshill School.

The MYP elections took place alongside elections for VOX, the county’s youth council, which saw 19 candidates from across Warwickshire take seats.

The students represent the voice of youth by addressing issues affecting young people on a county-wide level.

As well as voting their representatives, 12,409 young people also choose the issues that were the most important to them to help the new members of Youth Parliament and VOX.

The top issues identified included: mental health support, the living wage, tackling racism and religious discrimination, services for young people, lowering the voting age to 16 for all public elections, environmental issues, equality and diversity, youth employment and apprenticeships and curriculum for life.

Councillor Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council said: “We feel it is vitally important that our youth get the chance to be involved in the democratic process and have the chance to put their own views across.

“Both Members of Youth Parliament and VOX members are relatable to the younger generation, helping to give others someone whom they can discuss and relate to in their issues.

Cllr Dave Parsons, Chair of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee said: “All of the young people involved hold the future in their hands, so it is important to show that young people have some control over current issues and most importantly, have a say in the issues which affect them greatly.

“I always look forward to welcoming the new councillors and supporting them to meet the needs of local young people. It is always a great experience to work with everyone involved.”

The elections for VOX, the county’s youth council, saw 19 candidates from across Warwickshire take seats.

Four of these seats are held by young people in the Warwick District.

The members of VOX for the Warwick district are:

Ben Knight

Ethan Liddell

Coral-laine Moynihan

Sukhraj Sidhu