House of Lords
Blog written by Blaise, then Chair of St Albans Youth Council
Young people's rights always seem to be overlooked by the government. Although statistically we are a nation of 'Old Folk', young people still make up a good percentage of our country's population. In my opinion it is because of this ignorance of the views of those too young to vote that St Albans Youth Council (SAYC) was set up five years ago. Since its foundation, the Youth Council has devoted itself to promoting the opinions of Young People in St Albans.
However, SAYC finally decided that in order to create a better liaison between those in the power seats and the youth of today, they had to go straight to the top; to the House of Lords in London.
Eight representatives from SAYC and two youth workers visited the office of Baroness Royal of Blaisdon, Janet Anne Royal, who was recently promoted to the cabinet and given the position of Leader of the House of Lords by Gordon Brown. After a brief explanation of what the House of Lords – and what she, as Leader of it – does, it was the Council's turn to answer some of Baroness Royall's questions on Youth Rights. The Youth Council answered her questions to the best of their ability, including a slightly heated debate on the wisdom of lowering the voting age. At the end of this meeting, Baroness Royall thanked the Youth Council and let them wave to the passers by from her special balcony! She also promised to advocate Youth Rights further by liaising with the council where possible while looking at bills which involved young people.
After this meeting, the Youth Council was able to watch that afternoon's questions. This was incredibly interesting for the councillors, as they were able to see exactly what went on in the House of Lords. A few of the questions asked made references to young people, so the councillors were able to form their own opinions on the answers to feed back to the council as a whole.
Altogether, the day was not only educational, but a very fun one also!
If you are interested in joining the Youth Council, or would like more information, visit our website at: www.sayc.org.uk or contact Jeni Osbourne on: 01727 819470