10 signatures reached
To: The UK Government and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Save the UK Youth Parliament: Give Young People a Voice in Our Democracy
We call on the UK Government to protect and continue funding the UK Youth Parliament beyond March 2027, and to undertake meaningful consultation with young people, current and former Members of Youth Parliament, and youth organisations before making any decision about its future.
Why is this important?
I am supporting this petition because I have personally experienced the difference that meaningful youth participation can make. I have attended UK Youth Parliament conferences and taken part in youth participation opportunities that gave me the confidence to speak up, engage with decision-makers and understand that my voice could genuinely make a difference.
For me, this is personal. The support and opportunities I received through youth participation helped shape the person I am today. I am now studying Law at university, and I genuinely believe those experiences played an important part in giving me the confidence and ambition to get here.
I am therefore deeply concerned about the future of the UK Youth Parliament beyond March 2027.
Young people are constantly told that our voices matter and that we should engage with democracy. Yet political education and youth participation are already underfunded and too often overlooked. Removing or weakening a national platform through which young people can represent their peers risks sending a very damaging message: that young people’s voices matter only when it is convenient to listen to them.
If there are problems with UK Youth Parliament, they should be addressed. If more young people need to be reached, we should invest in reaching them. But decisions about the future of youth representation must not be made without properly listening to the young people who are directly affected.
I want the Government to hear directly from young people before making any final decision. We deserve to have a voice in deciding what happens to the institutions that exist to represent our voice.
