Congratulations to everyone who has been elected to the youth cabinet tonight and well done to all of you who took part. I want to want to give my thanks to the outgoing youth cabinet who’ve done a fantastic job over the last year. I’m really pleased that young people in Sheffield have an opportunity to voice their political opinions and influence decisions made by the Council.

 

I was the youngest serving Labour MP when I was first elected to Parliament in 2015 and, at the time, I felt that young people were under-represented in politics. Since then, I’ve spoken up on behalf of young carers and young workers who have been badly let down by the current government, for the voting age to be lowered to 16 and for better funding for our schools and further education.

 

Politics affects us all, regardless of our age. Decisions that are made in Parliament today around climate change, education, health, Brexit, the future of work, and the economy will impact the lives of young people now and well into the future. It’s important then that our political system values the opinions of young people who, rather than being politically apathetic, are frequently angry about the social injustice they see around them.

 

Well done again to everyone involved with the youth cabinet. I hope that you all maintain a passion for politics and maybe I’ll see you in Parliament one day – hopefully on the Labour benches!