Use of the Chamber (United Kingdom Youth Parliament)

Kerry McCarthy Excerpts

Tuesday 20th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Barbara Keeley]

I would not call it a slippery slope, but I will come to the point that the hon. Gentleman has raised.

As some Members have observed, the meeting that took place last October was a great success. These Benches were packed with 300 young men and women, many from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and it was a fantastic debate. One of the young people described how she felt about it, saying:

“It is an outstanding example of how democracy among young people is alive and kicking. Tackling debate topics such as tuition fees, transport, crime, the economy AND lowering the voting age really shows that anyone who thinks young people aren’t interested in politics is extremely misinformed.”

We want to encourage young people to see democracy as important, and to see the House of Commons as relevant to their lives and to the future. It would be very odd for us not to continue to let young people use the Chamber when we are not using it—on a Friday, during a weekend, or when the House is in recess. It would be very odd indeed for us to say now, after all the success of the debate last October, that we were raising the drawbridge on the use of Parliament by young people. Instead, we should be opening the windows to the breath of fresh air that they will bring in.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that if, after the great success of last year’s experiment, we turned around and said, “No, we are not letting you in here again,” that would send entirely the wrong signals to the young people?

[Barbara Keeley]

It would indeed. Members are clearly concerned about the issues affecting young people. We regularly discuss in the Chamber the same issues that the young people discuss themselves, and it is important for us to hear their angles and views as well. The engagement of the UK Youth Parliament—whose members are themselves elected from all parts of the country, often on a bigger turnout than some Members here—is very important.