Teenager to join Lords’ debate

A Staffordshire teenager will be taking part in a revolutionary House of Lords debate on issues facing young people in Britain this week.

Caitlen Moon, a 17-year-old pupil at Walton High School in Stafford, is Staffordshire West’s representative in the UK Youth Parliament.

And on Friday, she will sit in the House of Lords chamber to make young people’s voices heard in the wake of the local and mayoral elections.

The event involving 300 members of the Youth Parliament is only the second time the chamber has been used by people other than the members of the House of Lords themselves.

The issues set for debate include national public transport concession cards for young people, university tuition fees, lowering the voting age to 16 and defining the age at which young people are classed as an adult. Caitlen said: “Although we are not old enough to vote in the elections on May 1, this does not mean we have to sit in silence.

Young people not only deserve to, but have the right to, have their voices heard.

“This is exactly what members of the Youth Parliament will be doing when they storm the House of Lords on Friday. After all, young people are not just the future but we are also today.”

She added: “Young people do care about politics, and we do care about the world around us, but too often it feels as if adults don’t want to listen. Hopefully, by allowing young people to take centre stage and sit in the House of Lords, this will now change.” Andy Hamflett, chief executive of the UK Youth Parliament, said: “Allowing members of the UK Youth Parliament into the House of Lords screams out that Parliament belongs to the public, that young people are valued as citizens, and that what they have to say deserves to be listened to.

“I know that each and every one of them will rise to the challenge by feeding in the views of young people from all over the UK, by passionately debating the issues that matter most to them, and by coming up with concrete action plans that will really make a difference.”

The Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman said: “I am very pleased to welcome members of the UK Youth Parliament who will be coming from all over the country to debate important issues in the House of Lords Chamber this week.

“It is vital that we engage with young people and understand their views and experiences in order to pass laws which are fit for the future.”