Holly Mackinnon, a year ten student from The Holt School, has been elected Youth MP for Wokingham Borough, representing the voice of local children and young people in the UK Youth Parliament.
The UK Youth Parliament, run by the British Youth Council, empowers young people to campaign on the issues that affect them and gives them a platform and opportunity to do so.
In Holly’s manifesto, she outlined plans to lobby for the school curriculum to re-imagine “Britishness” from an ethnically diverse and anti-racist perspective, take steps towards implementing anti-hate measures, take action against climate change and ensure representation of students across the borough through regular forums. She will be supported by deputy Youth MP, Alassane Wone, a year ten student from The Forest School
"Our views are often ignored"
Holly said: “At the moment, being a young person in the UK is exasperating. It is easy to feel helpless as our planet is destroyed and inequality and insecurity grows. Our views are often ignored by those in power, by those who make decisions that dictate our future. This is why amplifying the young voices in our community is more important than ever.
“Becoming Youth MP is a way for me to represent young people in the borough and fight for the change we want to see locally and nationally. I aim to make young people in Wokingham feel that their voices matter and their views are heard, by both decision-makers and myself.”
Holly is a member of the youth council and whilst chairing her first meeting at the end of May, spoke with members about her vision for the group to become much more proactive in working with others in their networks to really get a sense of the issues affecting them.
View from the executive
Councillor Prue Bray, executive member for children’s services, echoed Holly’s sentiments, saying: “I would like to congratulate Holly on becoming our new youth MP. It’s an important role, as the decisions we make now will affect the lives of our young people for generations to come.”
“Whilst our intentions are good, we want to make sure we are getting it right, so working with UNICEF UK as a candidate to becoming a Child Friendly Community will help us to understand what we are doing well and where we can improve.”
Councillor Clive Jones, new leader of the council, added: “It is an exciting time to be a young person in the borough, and I look forward to working with Holly and our other children and young people to bring changes to the way we work and to make sure they are included and listened to.”
Get in touch
Holly would love to hear from any young people that want to get involved, so get in touch with any suggestions, questions or concerns you have about youth voice in Wokingham Borough at youthvoice@wokingham.gov.uk.
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