A new Youth MP has been chosen by young people across Blackburn and Darwen. Youngsters voted in their thousands this week and elected Uday Akram as their new Youth MP. The announcement was made at a special annual ceremony at Blackburn Town Hall and saw more than 9,300 young people voting, more than 1,000 more votes than last year, in schools, colleges and youth clubs across the borough.

Councillor Andy Kay, Deputy Leader of the Council, announced the winners and new Youth MP deputies are A’aisha Patel and Corey McPartland. The new Youth MPs were also joined by Councillor Maureen Bateson, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, and Chief Executive Harry Catherall.

The Youth Forum as a whole will be focusing on key campaigns issues over the next 12 months, namely mental health, food poverty and integration. The national campaigns this year are Votes at 16 and End Knife crime. These campaigns will be worked on with the North West regional youth councils known as Youthforia, in which the BwD Youth forum also attend.

Cllr Andy Kay, Deputy Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, added:
The Youth MP elections are always exciting as it’s great to see young people engaged in democracy and voting, and I want to congratulate all the candidates who were all campaigning with great ideas for the borough. I wish them all the best for the future and I am sure they will be future leaders. I would like to welcome Uday to the council and I look forward to working with him over the next year.”

The MP’s duties will include attending the Council’s executive and scrutiny boards, representing young people’s voices in meetings and events and regularly visiting youth clubs and school councils from across the borough.
The Youth MP will join all the Youth MP’s from across the country later this year where they will debate the top issues affecting young people in the House of Commons in November.