New Member of Youth Parliament elected for Westmorland and Furness for 2 year period

A new Member of the Youth Parliament (MYP) for Westmorland and Furness was elected yesterday following a special ceremony held at Kendal Town Hall.

The Youth Parliament is a non‑party‑political body enabling 11–18‑year‑olds to represent the views and priorities of young people at both regional and national levels.

The newly elected Westmorland and Furness MYP is Oscar Pitura from Kirkby Kendal School, Kendal. 

Three Deputies were voted in to represent each area: 

Eden: Freya Lennon (Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith) 

South Lakes: Ava Douglas (Ulverston Victoria High School) 

Furness: Charlie English (Dowdales School, Dalton) 

Oscar's manifesto focused on reducing homework, and improving careers advice resources,  setting out his key priorities for improving the lives of young people locally, and highlighting the importance of championing young people's voices and delivering meaningful change across the area.

Oscar said: 

" My main idea is to reshuffle the day and maybe getting rid of say, school registration time, which is normally just time used to have a chat with your friends. But I want to use it as time so any work that would get assigned can be done in school. So that means that you won't have any work to do whilst you're at home.  I also want to improve careers advice in schools too."

Other key topics raised during the event included safe places for young people to go, improving public transport, vaping awareness, mental health & self harm awareness, access to jobs for teens, better political understanding for 16 & 17 year olds, improved access to specialized healthcare, each reflecting the issues most important to local young people.

Milorad Vasic, Director of Children's Services, said:

"I am so impressed by the young people in Westmorland and Furness who were here today. They are caring, well informed and confident about expressing their views. All the candidates today were passionate, eloquent and had thought through their manifesto and how it could help their friends and young people in our area. Our region is in very good hands with the next generation of leaders."

Councillor Janet Battye, Cabinet Member for Children's Services said:

"Youth voice is vital for shaping a fair, inclusive and forward‑looking Westmorland and Furness. The energy and conviction shown by every candidate today highlights just how deeply young people care about their communities. I'm delighted to welcome our new Member of Youth Parliament and look forward to seeing the positive impact they will make."

To find out more about the UK Youth Parliament, visit the National Youth Agency NYA