Read each candidate's manifesto to make an informed decision.
What the Hampshire Youth Parliament Does? We are an organisation to promote youth voice to government and local decision makers in Hampshire. What have I done since I became Youth MYP in the South East Region? I have helped remove the policy from Hampshire County Council that meant school nurses would be online. I have Help Advertise the Hampshire Youth Parliament with local Members of Parliament such as the Home Secretary who is my Local MP and the Prime Minister and lots of schools. We have had great discussions with Hampshire County Council on mental health services. I have asked for Better Job opportunities for the youths such as asking the Home Secretary to support the food for learning campaign. Since Becoming MYP we made sure the environment is a key priority, so I helped organise the Hampshire Eco Conference with local politicians and charity organisations. My Policies I want a curriculum for life which that focuses on real-life support and knowledge for our future. I want Better post-16 routes. I believe better Free online services for young people to study. More opportunities for students with disadvantaged backgrounds to get into independent schools. Funding for a tutoring service to help students for a specific revision subject. Minimise school and college funding cuts and equip schools for the future. To integrate into the curriculum data literacy. My proposal is to make the system fairer and more progressive for university students. Reduce the classism in the Universities. Better understanding in LGBTQ Education. Increase funding for nature conservation efforts. I will call on the government, local and national, to have better funding for public transport. Create a national recycling standard. Urge the government to reduce their use of plastic packaging. Add a new topic to the school curriculum, how to be environmentally friendly. Child rates must rise as standard to 18 and local authorities and better youth public transport pass schemes. I will call for Better Youth services by local authorities. Better investment into rural infrastructure from the Government. Standardised the minimum wage. Better options for First Time Buyers so it easier to get on the housing market. Better dedicate resources to support young people affected by food poverty. Investment in better homelessness support centres. I want the government to increase as well as provide improved services for mental health support. More involvement from local councils on mental health. I want the government to increase funding, so it is sufficient for mental health services. Fund a co-production operation lead by multiple MYP’s that have similar goals in mind. Also, increasing staff member awareness through training. Better support for care leavers. Better Bereavement support Schools and academic trusts to enforce help and rules against the bullying of the LGBTQ+ community. Better ways for Schools and colleges to combat discrimination. Develop a support to help young people affected by hate crimes. Better Funding and training for careers advice. If you don’t know who to Vote for, Vote for Callum.
Hi, my name is Dulithi, and I am standing to be a MYP because the voices of the youth are rarely ever heard or taken seriously, even on matters that directly affect us. I don’t want the young people in our communities to sit and wait for grown adults (who don’t relate to us in today’s world) to make decisions about our lives and futures. Being part of youth council empowers young individuals like me to believe in their capacity to effect positive change. It fosters leadership skills, self-confidence, and a sense of responsibility to contribute to their community. If I am elected, I would like to shed light on the mental health issues that young people silently suffer through. The most common mental illnesses in adolescents are anxiety, mood, attention, and behaviour disorders. Unfortunately, suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people, accounting for 14% of deaths in 11–18-year-olds. There’s a large stigma against adult and teen mental health issues, making it difficult for individuals to seek help when they desperately need it. An issue that I am passionate about is gender inequality. Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. Gender inequality weakens women in many areas such as health, education, and business life. Studies show the different experiences of genders across many domains including education, life expectancy, personality, interests, family life, careers, and political affiliation. Every day, in every country in the world, women are confronted by discrimination and inequality. They face violence, abuse, and unequal treatment in their homes. An estimated 1 in 3 women globally have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, mostly at the hands of their partners. With various different platforms like social media for example, we can now connect, share our opinions and thoughts with each and every person in our community. From #MeToo to #MAGA, hashtags have become their own form of activism, allowing a topic to reach audiences never reached before, sparking discussions among people with a range of viewpoints and bringing more attention to an issue. Being a youth myself I would like to make my voice heard through my writing and speeches. I would talk to my friends, peers, and classmates about any issues they have with the world around us and would ensure that their voices would be heard and valued by giving a speech in our weekly assemblies or by taking concerns that my peers have to my head of year or my head teacher.
One day I looked upon society. I saw the good: the kindness, the donations to charities, the way people have helped each other through the pandemic. But I have also seen something more sinister lurking behind the pretty facade of everyday life. And as I gazed upon these issues, issues like climate change, racism, plastic pollution, and poverty, I looked upon it and said to myself: is this really an ideal world? Can’t we do better? If I were elected to the Youth Parliament I would put forward the views of talented young individuals, the Greta Thunburgs of Gosport, who are concerned and angry about climate change and they want action. And for anyone who thinks, why should they care about climate change, I say this: in twenty to thirty years there may not be a planet to care about if we don’t start caring soon. Times are changing and we must change with them which is why we must donate our time to community projects involving the environment, for example, litter pick, protesting, writing to the local MP about issues involving the environment. Our planet has a filthy obsession with pollution and destruction. We need to stop driving our cars and revving our engines so constantly, and we need to learn to appreciate the good a small walk now and then can do for our planet. Not only will riding a bike or taking a stroll now and then help your physical health but it will also play a crucial role in saving the planet we are inheriting from our parents. As well as reducing the amount of time we spend behind the wheel and the amount of noxious gases we pump into our atmosphere; we also need to rejuvenate nature's lungs and plant life. If we don’t act now, many of our native species will disappear and become part of our history, lost forever to a cruel smother of CO2 because we can’t be bothered to get up and about rather than zoom around in our vehicles. I will pledge to stop destroying our native habitats and create more laws to protect conservation areas. I briefly touched on mental health earlier, but I would once again like to stress the importance of this problem. Teenagers and young people often go through a lot but with nowhere for them to help themselves feel better and talk about what they are feeling. We are fated to go round in an endless cycle of depression. More support. More kindness and more talking are the only way to break from that cycle. As well as the environment and mental health, I would also work hard to fight against racism. I would start various campaigns and internet petitions to show the world the effects of how unkindness affects the well-being of fellow humans, for at the end of the day we are all running this one long human race together no matter the colour of our skin. "The time is always right to do what is right."
Hi, I'm Hattie and I'm a year 8 from the south contingent. I would like to run for MYP because I would love to be part of this fun way of helping the community resolve issues whilst ensuring young voices are heard. If I am elected, I will do everything I can to help make Hampshire South a better place. I don't want to make lots of big promises, but I do want to make one: to take your issues to the decision makers who have the power to make change and to make our contingent a nicer, better place for all. I personally am hoping to help lower the prices of public transport, so it is an affordable option for everyone. By improving public transport costs and links more people will be incentivized to use buses and trains to travel on oppose to travelling in personal vehicles, which will in turn have a beneficial impact on the environment. Another issue I'm keen to work on is improving the places young people can hang out in. I believe there should be more community spaces and affordable or free activities young people can access. Over the summer, along with several other members of my scout group, I walked and cycled from John O'Groats to Lands End to raise money to replace our current scout hut with a Community Activity Centre and new Scout HQ (to find out more about our epic journey visit https://wogglejogle.co.uk/ ). We are hoping the Activity Centre will contain an archery range and climbing centre that can be accessed by our whole community for minimal cost. I am hoping I can encourage lots of other people to get involved with projects like this, helping to better the community owned facilities available. Finally, during our summer journey, there was a huge variety in safety and quality of national footpaths and cycle ways. Improving or creating off road cycle and pedestrian pathways connecting the main residential areas in Hampshire South would encourage people to choose cycling or walking over driving. This would therefore not only be better for the environment, but would also contribute towards improving the physical and mental health of our community. I will help ensure, alongside my fellow MYPs, that the youth within Hampshire South are understood by speaking to people and by using technology to enable peoples view to be heard. I hope to place QR codes in the most popular places in my community, when scanned the QR code will take the user to a Microsoft forms document on which any issues can be reported. I promise to read all submitted forms and raise any highlighted ideas and concerns with the decision makers in Hampshire. I am very excited for this opportunity to represent my generation and to ensure we have the chance to listen, adapt and improve our community for the future.
Caring for Hampshire is essential for being MYP as I want to represent the voice of young people and our vision for a better community, a healthy environment and enhanced well being for all. Three points that I feel are essential to a healthy, lively and supportive county are: Environment, community and well being. As interconnected elements, they’d result in minimised effort and maximised result when tackled. Should I be elected, I would focus on environment - I would implement youth led litter picks in our parks and beaches whilst also carrying out more clubs for the youth like gardening. To support the well being of young people, I would like to carry out flash mobs, big groups of people getting together socializing and practicing dance routines that they’d show to the public; this proves beneficial for mental health. Any donations would be directed to mental health charities such as Mind and No Limits. I’d encourage young people to submit their pieces of artwork to public places for people to see for a small donation, all of which to be donated to mental health charities. These activities require group work, which result in a sense of community. Hampshire is one big family. Undoubtedly, the most important part of leadership is listening because if no-one was ever heard then no change would ever occur. We are the youth of today and the leaders of tomorrow so let’s make tomorrow a good time for us all.
“Youth, Trust, Action: Invest in OUR future.” Who am I? I’m a first year college student living in Southampton, and studying politics, physics, maths and further maths. Amongst other things, I love playing and listening to music, hiking, reading and exploring new places. I am committed, compassionate and conscientious. Why am I standing? I’m standing to be a MYP for Hampshire South West because I’m passionate about the local and national community around me. I feel strongly about the many issues facing us today, and believe firmly that the only way to solve them is through local voices for change, making small steps so that, together, they add up to build a brighter future. Becoming a Member of Youth Parliament is the perfect way to be part of this change, utilising my own skills and experience in leadership, negotiation and communication. What do I stand for? If I’m elected, my immediate priorities are: Greater Youth Engagement The voices of young people of this country are too often overlooked by those in power. Too often drowned out long before they reach those who really need to hear them. In fact, so much so that many young people have been driven away from the chaos of politics and disconnected from decision making, no matter how much it affects them. If I’m elected, I’ll push for new measures to engage the young people of Hampshire in politics, such as school workshops, drop in sessions, and an active social media presence. Personally, I promise to operate an ‘open door policy’, by always listening to and sharing any of your feedback, or opinions, making your vote not just one for me, but for every young person of South West Hampshire. Trust and Transparency Transparency and integrity are values in politics that are more important now, when they seem to be forgotten or ignored by many of our leaders, than ever. If I am elected, I’ll ensure insights into the work of the Hampshire Youth Parliament are shared regularly through social media, keeping the process open and accountable, and closing the divide between you and the people who represent you. Decisive Action The issues facing young people today are complex and can seem overwhelming, but they won't be solved by politicians making fancy speeches in parliament. Instead, it’s up to young people like us to play our part in pushing for action in our local areas. If I am elected I’ll do exactly that, focusing particularly on the environment and young people’s health. I’ll use my own experience and connections from working with the University of Southampton’s LifeLab to collaborate with them and other local organisations in providing valuable information to young people. I’ll also campaign for better local public transport systems, and more traffic regulations outside schools, to protect young people’s health and independence. Vote for the Dockree Dream This is your chance to make a difference! Vote Dockree before the 30th November to secure yourself a voice in our future, together.