Our Member, Evie Somers, from Carmarthen represented Carmarthenshire at the UK Youth Parliament Annual Sitting at the House Of Commons, Westminster. The Annual Sitting took place on Friday 28^th February 2025 and along with 300 other Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) Evie debated and voted on key issues which affect young people across the UK.

Evie was elected as the MYP for Carmarthenshire, in August 2024 and will stand for a two-year term. MYP’s are 11 to 18 years old and represent the views of their peers.

During the Annual Sitting, which was presided over by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, young people from across the UK as well as the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies debated and voted on five key topics, these were:
★ Voting 16 and 17-year-olds
★ Increasing the minimum wage
★ Free transport for young people
★ The need for political education
★ Period dignity for everyone

Evie said “It was such an honour to represent my peers, their experiences, and their voices at the House of Commons. During a day filled with passionate debate, I had the opportunity to deliver my speech on the importance of political literacy, highlighting how ‘democracy does not function on apathy’ and that it instead ‘thrives on awareness participation and empowerment’. Click play on the video below to watch Evie’s passionate speech at the House of Commons.

Following a busy day of debating in the Chamber, the day ended with the UK Youth Parliament setting key motions on issues affecting young people nationwide, ensuring that youth voices are central of policy discussions. Youth Parliament Members voted to prioritise Lowering the voting age to 16 (UK Reserved Campaign) and Period dignity (Devolved Campaign) as their campaigns for the upcoming year.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons said that he was “very proud that this sitting of the UK Youth Parliament will be the most inclusive and exciting yet.”

The event in the UK Parliament coincided with the launch the UK Youth Parliament Manifesto for 2024-2026, ‘Shaping Our Future, Today Not Tomorrow’, which was created by young people at their Annual Conference last year, drawing on the views and issues raised by young people from across the UK.

As a dedicated advocate for the voice of young people, Evie will continue to work alongside decision-makers to drive progress in these priority areas. Ensuring young people’s voices are heard and championing for meaningful change for young people throughout Carmarthenshire, Wales and across the UK.

Carmarthenshire Council Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language, Cllr Glynog Davies congratulated Evie on representing the county at the UK Youth Parliament and also for being elected as the Member of UK Youth Parliament (MYP) for Carmarthenshire.

For the first time ever a Member of the Youth Parliament made history as the first young person to use British Sign Language to deliver their speech in the House of Commons. A BSL interpreter communicated this via a microphone in the Commons Chamber.

Last summer our Secretary Evie was elected as the Member of UK Youth Parliament (MYP) for Carmarthenshire and will be representing the County at the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) Annual Sitting being held at the House of Commons, London on Friday 28^th February 2025.

Evie said “Being given the opportunity to represent your peers, your peers’ experiences and their voices is one of the greatest honours. When I have conversations and interactions with my constituents, I feel so lucky and appreciative to be in my position”

MYP’s are 11 to 18 years old and represent the views of their peers on a UK wide level and Evie will have this position for a two-year term. Evie and over 300 other MYP’s from all parts of the UK will travel to Westminster to debate and vote on issues that matters to young people.

The UKYP provides opportunities for young people to bring about social change through meaningful representation. It is overseen by the National Youth Agency and Evie’s involvement is supported locally by Carmarthenshire County Councils Youth Support Service.

Presided over by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, Members of the Youth Parliament will take part in five debates, the subjects for which were voted for by young people across the UK. MYP’s will prioritise two out of five debated subjects for the UK Youth Parliament national campaigns.

The 5 issues to be debated in the Annual Sitting are:

★ VOTING (UK issue)
16 and 17 year olds should be allowed to vote in all elections and referendums, accompanied with more political education throughout school.

★ MINIMUM WAGE (UK issue)
The National Minimum Wage for every worker under 22 be raised in order to match the National Living Wage for those over 22.

★ TRANSPORT (Devolved issue)
All public transport should be free for young people.

★ POLITICAL EDUCATION (Devolved issue)
All young people in the UK must have access to a standardised level of political literacy and democratic education to improve engagement in politics on a local, national and international level to develop critical thinking skills.

★ PERIOD DIGNITY (Devolved issue)
To establish period dignity, there should be free, accessible, good quality period products available in public spaces for everyone.

Evie said that “since being elected, the past five months have been both exciting, in the case of meeting with and getting to know regional MYPs from Wales, and to an extent, overwhelming. For example, attending the Annual Conference in October 2024 was my first time meeting MYPs from across the UK, and in two days we made our entire manifesto. Situations like those tend to remind me of my elected duties and my accountability to the young people of Carmarthenshire.”

Evie is looking forward to the Annual Sitting, she feels it is her elected duty to protect young people’s voices no matter what, and believes young people offer what can often be a very valuable perspective on issues adults cannot; all young people in Carmarthenshire will be at the forefront of her mind during this prestigious event.

Here’s how to stay up to date or follow the action as it happens;

Here’s how to stay up to date or follow the action as it happens;
★ WATCH : The UK Youth Parliament Annual Sitting in the House of Commons on Friday, the 28th of February will be shown live on Parliament TV and Parliament TV Social Media. You can watch live by clicking here!

★ CONVERSATION: You can keep up to date with Evie’s Day by following #CarmsHoC25 on social media.  

★ VISIT: For more information on the UKYP you can visit their website by clicking here www.nya.org.uk/ukyp

Our UK Youth Parliament Member, Olivia, 17 from Hendy is preparing to represent Carmarthenshire and Wales at the UK Youth Parliament Annual Sitting taking place in the House Of Commons, Westminster later this week. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​The event, which is their twelfth sitting, is taking place on Friday 17^th November 2023 where Olivia with other representatives will contribute to a debate and vote to decide the issues they will prioritise for their ‘Food for Learning’ campaign. 

Olivia has been a Youth Council Member for over 5 years and has been elected by other Youth Councillors to represent Carmarthenshire. She will be joining over 200 Members of the UK Youth Parliament aged 11-18 who will take part in a national debate in the House of Commons. Speaker of The House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP will be welcoming the Youth Parliament for their annual sitting in the house, with the afternoon sessions chaired by Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Nigel Evans MP

Olivia, who is a dedicated and passionate young person said;
“Being able to represent Carmarthenshire at the Annual Sitting in the House of Commons, London excites me. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity but also a little anxious. I’m particularly interested in hearing what young people from other places have to say and expressing my own views. I sincerely hope that I will have the opportunity to speak with many new people and explore a variety of topics that are significant to young people in the UK.”

Members of the Youth Parliament will vote. Each debate topic will be introduced with speeches from regionally elected Members of Youth Parliament, who will put forward arguments for and against the issue, before opening up to the floor. Following the five debates, each Member of Youth Parliament in the Chamber will vote for their top issue to decide which issue will become their national campaign for 2023

THE 5 TOPICS BEING DEBATED;
★ Holiday Hunger – Create provisions to ensure young people have access to meals outside of term time
★ Quality of Food – School meals should be made using good, healthy and nutritious ingredients and no ultra-processed foods. 
★ Standardisation –   Ensure young people all have access to the same quality and volume of food in schools. 
★ Financing and Funding – Create arrangements to fund school meals. 
★ Additional Pricing – Ensure the prices of any additional food are reasonable and consistent across the UK.

Following the sitting, Members of Youth Parliament will campaign on the issues they vote as their priority. They will also conclude their year-long efforts to draft their Parliamentary bill.

Sarah Powell, Carmarthenshire’s Senior Participation Officer said
“Olivia is incredibly excited to be a part of the UK Youth Parliament and it’s an amazing opportunity for her. It’s great to see so many young people engaging in politics to talk about issues that matter to them and contributing to making a difference, especially in the financially challenging climate that we face.  I’m so proud of Olivia in representing Carmarthenshire at such an important national event.”

The debates will be streamed live (with a 20 minute delay) on Parliamentlive.tv or you can follow the conversation on Social Media using #UKYPHoC