SUMMARY

— The British Youth Council (BYC) welcomes the work of the Speaker's Conference 2009 to address the disparity in representation of certain groups within British society in the House of Commons. Young people from BYC would also be keen to submit oral evidence to the Conference.

— BYC highlights the lack of Members of Parliament aged under 26 and the need for better representation of young people within the Commons; including young women, young people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups and young people who are disabled.

— BYC outlines how disparity of representation firstly affects the ability of the House of Commons to represent the views and concerns of the people of Britain and secondly negatively affects the British publics' perceptions of the House of Commons.

— BYC calls on the Speaker's Conference to consider how a lowering of the voting age, in parallel with reforms in two key areas—youth engagement and political education—would support and stimulate the representation of young people in the House of Commons.

— BYC calls for a reduction of the age of candidacy from 18 years to 16 years old.

— BYC calls on the Speaker's Conference to also focus on the representation of young women, young people from BME groups and young people with a disability within the House of Commons.

— BYC recommends that the report of the Speaker's Conference is relayed to the Youth Citizenship Commission.

1.  Missing: Young Voices in the House of Commons

  1.1.  The British Youth Council (BYC) welcomes this Speaker's Conference and the opportunity to submit evidence. BYC wishes to demonstrate through this statement how young people see balanced representation in the House of Commons as fundamental to its ability to fulfill its role as the voice of the British people. Young people from BYC would also be keen to submit oral evidence to the Conference.

  1.2.  BYC is a youth-led organisation for young people across the UK. BYC's Board of Trustees, consists of 13 elected young people, who are all aged 26 and under. Our vision is that all young people should be respected and able to influence and inform decisions which affect their lives or upon which they have strong opinions.

  BYC links up with our community of member organisations and network of local Youth Councils to empower young people to play a role in decision-making at a local, national and global level. BYC enables young people to boost their skills through participating in our training workshops and programmes, volunteering opportunities and campaigns. We work with a diverse range of young people across the UK. One in four young people who have taken part in BYC programme and training activities faced potential barriers to getting involved, for example being not in education or employment, a young carer, homeless, or on a low income. BYC also has experience of working to engage young women in decision-making.

  1.3.  BYC wishes to highlight in this written response the disparity between the representation of young people in the House of Commons and their representation in the UK population at large. It is vital that all age groups are represented in Parliament including younger people. Young people need to be better represented within the current political systems, as do their views. BYC believes that this is achieved by having a proportion of young representatives. As Members will be aware, there are currently no MPs aged under 26 in the House of Commons. After the last General Election the average age of MPs rose, from 49 years in 1997 to 51 years in 2005. After 2005 there were only two MPs under age of 30 (House of Commons Library, 2005 "Social Background of MPs": 2). The youngest MP now being Jo Swinson MP, aged 28, who is a Member of this Conference and BYC Honorary President. Estimates have found that 18 to 25 year olds constitute 10.9% of our population (Office of National Statistics Population Statistics, 2007). This means the faces of a tenth of our population are missing from the Commons' benches.

  1.4.  In the announcement on 3 September 2007 to notify the invitation of a a Speaker's Conference, the Prime Minister told the House that the Speaker should call a conference to: "consider against the backdrop of a decline in turnout, a number of other important issues such as registration, weekend voting, the representation of women and ethnic minorities in the House of Commons, and that he should also examine in parallel with the Youth Citizenship Commission whether we should lower the voting age to 16". Within the Speaker's Conference BYC would like to see the consideration of representation of young people within the Commons; including young women, young people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups and young people who are disabled. BYC also recommends that the report of the Speaker's Conference is relayed to the Youth Citizenship Commission.

2.  Wanted: fresh views and public confidence in British politics

  2.1.  Disparity of representation in the House of Commons impacts on British politics in two deep-seated ways. Firstly, it affects the ability of the House of Commons to represent the views and concerns of the people of Britain. Secondly, it affects how the British public perceives how the House of Commons represents them.

  2.2.  Disproportionate representation of certain groups in society means the House of Commons misses out. It misses out on the benefits of different voices and life experiences in its chamber. It is too simplistic to say that a lack of young MPs means that elected representatives have an "age gap" when discussing certain issues that particularly affect younger constituents. MPs who thoroughly consult their younger constituents (and there are arguments for an electorate that includes 16 and 17 year olds detailed in this response) can articulate their opinions. However, it can be strongly argued that more young MPs would bring a greater variety of life experiences to the Commons, new perspectives, new energy. The consequential benefits of younger MPs to the ability of the House of Commons to represent its people and add momentum to its work cannot be taken too lightly.

  2.3.  We believe that younger representatives would also bring fresh energy to the representation of young women, young BME groups and young people with disabilities in the House of Commons.

  2.4.  The House of Commons would also have greater public confidence if it was more representative of Britain. The reassurance of having politicians who can restore confidence to a group that their voices are being heard is invaluable. BYC believes that crucial measures need to be implemented to restore young people's confidence in politicians and the British political system. Research by BYC and YouthNet has found that nine in ten young people feel that politicians do not treat young people as equals. Three-quarters of young people also said they lost respect for politicians when they said negative things about young people (2006, "The Voice behind the Hood").

  2.5.  At BYC we believe it is too simplistic to label all young people as apathetic. Young people are just as passionate about the world they live in as the rest of society—they care about decisions made on higher education funding, on deals made to combat climate change, about efforts to tackle the current financial climate and to change the society they live in for the better. However, we are calling for steps to counteract the pervasive disillusionment felt by young people, and the rest of British society, about getting involved in politics to make a difference.

  2.6.  A snapshot of these feelings about politics was recently demonstrated by the "Political outsiders: we care, but will we vote?" report produced by a member of BYC—Girlguiding UK, in partnership with BYC and the Fawcett Society. This research surveyed approximately 1,000 girls who are members of GirlguidingUK aged between 14 and 25. The report found that although these young women are among the most active citizens in their age groups they felt a real disengagement from both local and national politics. Many were sceptical about politics' ability to bring about change. A fifth were deterred from getting involved by feeling politics is not worth the effort and 17% felt they cannot make a difference. Over a quarter of girls also ascribed their lack of political engagement to insufficient information about how and why they should take part (Girlguiding UK, 2008, Girls Shout Out).

  2.7.  BYC hopes that the Speaker's Conference considers these problems proliferating from a disparity in the representation of young people in the House of Commons. The lack of young MPs in the Commons is both a symptom and stimulus of disatisfaction with the House.

3.  Needed: votes at 16, greater youth engagement and inspiring political education

  3.1.  At BYC, we have been working for over 60 years to support the development of young people's skills so that they can confidently participate in politics. In our experience the key way to encourage people to become active is through increasing their awareness that taking such action is relevant to their lives, providing targeted activities and developing their confidence that they can take part. We often use the metaphor that this is like us building a young person a platform—we give them a stage through BYC, hand them a microphone through awareness-raising of young people's views so that they can sing their own song.

  3.2.  As BYC recently outlined in our response to the Youth Citizenship Commission's consultation "Old Enough to Make a Mark? Should the voting age be lowered to 16?", we believe that a vital breath of air needs to be injected into British democracy (Available from www.byc.org.uk). This must occur through a lowering of the voting age to 16 in parallel with reforms in two key areas—youth engagement and political education. BYC would welcome the Speaker's Conference consideration of how these measures would support and stimulate the election of young MPs.

  3.3.  BYC has been campaigning for the voting age to be lowered for over a decade and is a key member of the Votes at 16 Coalition. Votes at 16 is a priority campaign for BYC in 2009. As we detail in our response to the Youth Citizenship Commission this is due to three key reasons. Firstly, 16 and 17 year olds should have the right to representation due to the responsibilities they upheld and the contributions they make to society. Secondly, this generation are able to make a free and informed choice at the ballot box at the age of 16 and 17. Finally, votes at 16 would only encourage younger citizens who are already learning about the vote and British political process, and having opportunities to cast their vote in elections they care about such as school councils or Local Youth Councils, to get involved in formal politics. Young people within BYC also support the right of their colleagues from the age of 16 to stand as candidates for local, national and European elections. Within our Youth Manifesto 2008-09 BYC details how 16 and 17 year olds have lots to offer and the decision of their appointment to positions of political authority should be in the hands of the electorate. During the early 2000s, the British Youth Council and other groups successfully campaigned to lower age of candidacy requirements in the United Kingdom from 21 to 18 in England, Wales and Scotland. On 1 January 2007, section 17 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 permitted candidacy at 18.

  3.4.  When considering disparity of other groups in the House of Commons such as Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups it is also important to consider how reducing the voting age could have a positive impact on increasing BME participation in elections. In the 2005 General Election turnout levels among BME groups were significantly lower than that of the white population (47% to 62%). As among the British population as a whole, abstention was highest among younger BME people but it appears that this "young" group includes not only 18-24 year olds but 25-34 year-olds whose turnout was just as low. (Electoral Commission, 2005, "Election 2005: Turnout": 25). However, demographically the younger population is increasingly more ethnically diverse. Research released by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on 21 January 2009 detailed how almost 20 per cent of children under the age of 16 are from an ethnic minority and nearly ten per cent of children live in a family with a multiple white, black or Asian heritage (Available from www.equalityhumanrights.com). It must be considered how engaging young people in formal politics could be important in also redressing the under representation of BME MPs in the House of Commons.

  3.5.  BYC does not propose votes at 16 and candidacy at 16 in isolation to encourage youth involvement in politics. Votes at 16 and candidacy at 16 have the potential to act as a central force in challenging, and consequently changing, young people's engagement with voting and the British public's perception of voting as a whole. However, they will need to be supported by a strong commitment to the engagement of young people in civic society and education about British policial process. Specific measures are needed to improve, and embed, young people's experiences of participating in civic society.

  3.6.  There needs to be an expansion of opportunities for young people to be active in decision making in Britain—whether this be through supporting youth organisations, Local Youth Councils, school councils, or young people's involvement in the governance of organisations. In addition to measures to tackle barriers to participation in politics for young people, there needs to be a promotion of "doing" politics in Britain. This would enable a connection between young people's interest in issues that are political, such as climate change, the Minimum Wage or higher education funding, and formal democratic activities such as voting or being selected as a Party candidate. As the national Youth Council of the UK, BYC particularly emphasises the role that Local Youth Councils can play in enabling young people to develop the skills to have their say. Youth councils are a great forum for appreciate inquiry in decision-making.

  3.7.  Education is also key to the engagement of young people in formal politics. A core BYC objective is to support the development of young people's skills so that they can confidently participate in decision making and politics. One example is BYC's "Inform and Influence", a two year programme funded by the Electoral Commission partnership grant scheme. "Inform and Influence" targeted young people outside of education, training and employment aged 16 to 25, across the UK. The programme worked to increase young people's understanding of the UK and European democratic institutions and activities—how they work and how to influence them. Training worked to build young people's confidence in their ability to express their views and participate in discussions with decision makers about what is important to them, in addition to increasing their knowledge and understanding of the political systems. Over 1000 young people were beneficiaries of "Inform and Influence" training over this two year period. Over 80% of those who attended training stated that their involvement had made them "more likely to vote." A key part of "Inform and Influence" was "Young People and Your Democracy" events which brought together young people at their national democratic institution, whether this be the Houses of Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland Assembly, to learn about how it works and meet with their elected representatives. Such events work to challenge the image of politics for young people. Moreover, they challenged the preconceptions young people might hold that politics is nothing to do them. Simply talking with their elected representatives allowed young people to speak their minds on issues that they came to realise were political, and which they cared about very much.

  3.8.  In addition to education to inspire young people to inform and influence politics, there is also a need for advice and guidance about how to get involved in politics. Lack of information about opportunities is an important barrier to participation. The Speaker's Conference should consider the role of education programmes in raising awareness amongst the British public about how they can get involved in party politics and secure nomination as a candidate. The Conference may also wish to discuss the role of political parties for citizens in the 21st century as party membership declines. Only 1% of 18 to 24 year olds gave money or paid a membership fee to a political party in the last two or three years, whereas 30% paid membership or donated to charities or campaigning organisations (Hansard Society, 2008, Audit of Political Engagement 5: 18).

  3.9.  Through votes and 16, greater youth engagement in civic society and an inspiring political education, young people would be more likely to build up the skills, experience, confidence and know-how to put themselves up for election and demonstrate to the electorate that they have the necessary abilities and interests for a full time political career. Giving young people a platform is vital to increasing their representation in the House of Commons.

4.  RECOMMENDATIONS

  4.1.  BYC would like the Speaker's Conference 2009 to consider:

— The disparity between the representation of people aged under 26 in the House of Commons;

— How votes at 16, greater engagement of young people in civic society and inspiring political education could both enable more young people to become Members of Parliament and encourage political participation across British society.

  4.2.  BYC would like the Speaker's Conference to agree that:

— Increasing the representation of any unrepresented group in the House of Commons should be particularly targeted at the young who will and can influence the future of the House through voting and candidacy.