Record numbers of young people in Havering voted to elect two new members of the UK Youth Parliament who were announced at a special event at the Town Hall on Friday (21 February).
Around 10,800 young people voted in total, that’s just under 45 per cent of youths eligible to vote in the borough, with Frankie Walker (16) from Harold Hill and Tolu Akingbade (14) from Hornchurch, elected to represent them.
Freya Pearson (14) from Gidea Park and Destiny Fakayode (15) from Elm Park, were elected as Frankie and Tolu’s deputies.
In her speech after the results were announced, Frankie said: “This has been a really hard process – we’ve had to interact with lots of different types of people and speak in front of really large groups. But we did this because youths should be heard more and that’s what will lead to changes in society – that’s why this process and the role are so important.”
Frankie and Tolu will make the young people of Havering’s priorities and issues known at a national level.
When asked what they thought were the main things youths in the borough wanted them to address, they said some of the top issues were lack of work experience and combating negative stereotypes.
“We’re going to need jobs in the future, and we don’t just want to be another statistic,” said Destiny, “The world is a tough place and we need people to offer their support and give us experience.”
Frankie added: “There are a lot of misconceptions about young people and we need to break those down so that young and old both have mutual respect for each other.”
Councillor Eric Munday, Mayor of Havering, announced the results of the election. He said:
“Young people should take an interest in politics because we’re all affected by it, and it’s good to see some fresh blood getting involved in local politics.”
Nine candidates campaigned across secondary schools, colleges and youth centres in the borough.
Around 10,800 young people voted in total, that’s just under 45 per cent of youths eligible to vote in the borough, with Frankie Walker (16) from Harold Hill and Tolu Akingbade (14) from Hornchurch, elected to represent them.
Freya Pearson (14) from Gidea Park and Destiny Fakayode (15) from Elm Park, were elected as Frankie and Tolu’s deputies.
In her speech after the results were announced, Frankie said: “This has been a really hard process – we’ve had to interact with lots of different types of people and speak in front of really large groups. But we did this because youths should be heard more and that’s what will lead to changes in society – that’s why this process and the role are so important.”
Frankie and Tolu will make the young people of Havering’s priorities and issues known at a national level.
When asked what they thought were the main things youths in the borough wanted them to address, they said some of the top issues were lack of work experience and combating negative stereotypes.
“We’re going to need jobs in the future, and we don’t just want to be another statistic,” said Destiny, “The world is a tough place and we need people to offer their support and give us experience.”
Frankie added: “There are a lot of misconceptions about young people and we need to break those down so that young and old both have mutual respect for each other.”
Councillor Eric Munday, Mayor of Havering, announced the results of the election. He said:
“Young people should take an interest in politics because we’re all affected by it, and it’s good to see some fresh blood getting involved in local politics.”
Nine candidates campaigned across secondary schools, colleges and youth centres in the borough.
