So, you want to become a Member of the Youth Parliament (MYP) in Hampshire...?

• To become an MYP (anywhere) you have to be elected by other young people in an official UK Youth Parliament election.
• Any young person who is a resident of the UK, and aged between 11 and 18 years old (inclusive) has the right to stand for election as an MYP and the right to vote for their MYP.
• Each Local Education Authority (LEA) in England represents a Youth Parliament Constituency. The number of MYPs allocated to each constituency varies depending upon the number of young people who live in that area. In Hampshire this is 6 MYPs, alongside 6 Deputies for each of these Members. The constituencies are listed below...
• Elections in Hampshire are taking place between the 16th November until the 27th November 2009, through iVote and paper ballots.
• Over the past 3 years, over a million people have voted in UK Youth Parliament elections nationally.

If you become an MYP...

• Upon election you will be expected to find out the concerns and needs of other young people in your constituency, and represent these views to decision makers on a local, regional, and national level.
• During your term of office you will have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of events, projects and campaigns.
• Your Member of Parliament (MP) will be keen to hear from you, and many MYPs develop a productive working relationship with their MP, often having regular meetings at the House of Commons and in their constituency.
• In addition to working locally and regionally, the UK Youth Parliament also understakes to facilitate meetings between MYPs, Government Ministers and Government Departments on the issues that are raised in the UKYP Manifesto.
• As an MYP you will also get an opportunity to attend between six and ten regional meetings during your term of office. Once a year the UK Youth Parliament holds an Annual Sitting, which brings together all of the MYPs (sadly no DMYPs!) from across the whole of the UK, for a four day residential to receive training, plan campaigns, update the UKYP Manifesto and socialise!

How much time would you have to commit?

• An MYPs term of office lasts for one year (February 1st through until January 31st the following year). On average you will need to commit between one and five hours per week on UKYP activities.

What skills will I develop whilst being an MYP?

Each MYP's experience is likely to be different from the next, but in general MYPs will develop a combination of the following skills:

• Communication skills;
• Public speaking skills;
• Greater knowledge of politics and current affairs;
• The ability to look at an issue from someone else's perspective;
• Debating skills;
• Teamwork skills;
• Leadership skills;
• Organisational skills;
• and Negotiation skills.

To read accounts of previous MYPs from across the UK, click here.

What should you do next?

If you are still interested in becoming an Member of Youth Parliament for Hampshire, you will need to attend a briefing workshop and write a manifesto (no longer than 100 words) for other young people to get to know who they're voting for. Our constituencies, alongside their briefing workshop dates, are:

• Basingstoke & Deane / Test Valley North
  • Briefing workshop on Friday 23rd October, 6-8pm. Location: The Wedge, Winton School, Andover. (NB - this date was originally mis-printed in the leaflet).
• Eastleigh & Winchester
  • Briefing workshop on Tuesday 20th October, 4.30-6.30pm. Location: Twenty5, City Road, Winchester.
• East Hants & Havant
  • Briefing workshop on Thursday 29th October, 4-6pm. Location: Wecock Young People's Centre, Havant.
• Fareham & Gosport
  • Briefing workshop on Wednesday 21st October, 7-8.30pm. Location: Xperience Young Person's Centre, Fareham.
• Hart & Rushmoor
  • Briefing workshop on Tuesday 27th October, 4-6pm. Location: Capricorn Youth Club, Aldershot.
• Test Valley South & New Forest
  • Briefing workshop on Tuesday 27th October, 6-8pm. Location: Romsey Youth Centre, Romsey School, Romsey.

To stand as a Member of the Youth Parliament in Hampshire you must register and attend a briefing workshop in order to stand.

To register please fill out the online form here.

If you have an issue with attending a briefing workshop, please contact us using the contact form on our website.

For a PDF copy of the Information leaflet we have been distributing, please click here.