{"id":86213,"date":"2017-11-10T11:51:25","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T11:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=0436d34f8287082a4122653a5141c433"},"modified":"2017-11-10T11:51:25","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T11:51:25","slug":"speech-uk-youth-parliament-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=86213","title":{"rendered":"Speech: UK Youth Parliament 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Good morning everyone.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure about you, Mr Speaker, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen these benches looking quite so energetic as they do this morning!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m delighted to open this year\u2019s Youth Parliament – a fantastic opportunity for all of you, and I\u2019m sure you will do your regions proud today.<\/p>\n

I would like to start by asking, who here has been told \u2018young people don\u2019t really understand politics\u2019, or \u2018you\u2019re too young to be interested in politics\u2019?<\/p>\n

Too often, young people are made to feel patronised, or worse still, excluded from politics.<\/p>\n

The Youth Parliament is one of the small ways we can demonstrate that the voices of young people belong in politics, and they belong in this Parliament.<\/p>\n

Mr Speaker has, over the years, been a great advocate for young people, and I feel just as passionately about removing barriers to politics.<\/p>\n

I was delighted that as Leader of the House, the motion on the order paper, which allows the Youth Parliament to sit, went down in my name, and commanded cross-party support.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that cross-party consensus that, in my role as Leader, I work hard to foster wherever possible.<\/p>\n

As Parliament\u2019s representative in Government, it\u2019s my job to communicate the goings-on of the chamber to the Prime Minister and her cabinet.<\/p>\n

That includes the various requests made or concerns raised by my opposite number and Shadow Leaders – and I\u2019m pleased to say the cut and thrust of the debating chamber does not always reflect the very collegiate working relationship between many of us across parties.<\/p>\n

The second part of my role, representing government in Parliament, is focused on getting legislation through this House. In this session there is a big focus on our Brexit bills, but of course we are also working hard to get our domestic legislation through the House, too.<\/p>\n

My ambition for this Parliament, as Leader of the House, is to prove this is a \u2018listening government\u2019.<\/p>\n

I am determined to deliver on the will of the British people, in last year\u2019s referendum, but I recognise that the best way to achieve that is by listening to the views of both parliamentarians and the public.<\/p>\n

The process of legislation for Brexit can be a positive one, that proves we are capable of working together and putting the country above all else.<\/p>\n

In many ways we could learn more from the Youth Parliament, than they can from us.<\/p>\n

Your green benches are more diverse than ours, with a better gender balance, and representatives from a wider range of ethnic and religious backgrounds.<\/p>\n

And we can learn so much from the priorities you have identified for today\u2019s debate. They are not only issues that impact young people, but across society:<\/p>\n