BRIGG YOUNGSTERS TO VOTE IN 2017 YOUTH ELECTIONS

Very few young people in Brigg get involved in consultations or attend council or public meetings in our area. This is nothing new.
However, it does not help the powers-that-be know what the young folk want or think about particular topics and issues.
So Brigg Blog was very interested to receive the following from a North Lincolnshire Council spokesman... 

FROM CHRIS O'ROURKE

Voting in the 2017 Youth Elections will begin on Monday 30 January (today) with young people aged 11 to 20 in North Lincolnshire having two weeks to decide their future Young Mayor and Member of Youth Parliament.
Fifteen young people have put themselves forward for the positions – seven for Young Mayor and eight for Member of Youth Parliament – and they have been actively campaigning over the last few weeks.
During the voting fortnight, young people at schools, colleges and other settings across the area will be given the opportunity to decide who they want to represent them. 
At the last Youth Elections in 2015, 5,647 votes were cast by the young people of North Lincolnshire - the highest voting turnout since elections began in 2012.
Voting will close on 10 February before the ballots are collected and the winners announced at the count on Wednesday 15 February from 4pm to 6pm at the Civic Centre (Scunthorpe).
The outgoing Young Mayor, Kian Borg-Jackson, and Member of Youth Parliament, William McCullion, were elected to their roles in February 2015 and since then they have worked hard to represent the views of young people at a local, regional and national level.
A celebration event will be held at the Learning Development Centre on Enderby Road, Scunthorpe, on Thursday 2 February from 4pm to 6pm to highlight Kian and William’s achievements during their terms in office.
Young Mayor Kian has championed the development of the BE SMART Social Media Charter which encourages young people to be safe online. He has actively promoted the importance of being Dementia Friends and, as a Dementia Champion, he is rolling out training to his peers to raise awareness.
William was the first Member of Youth Parliament for North Lincolnshire to be invited to speak at the House of Commons Annual Debate and he has been involved in leading the collection of the votes for the annual Make Your Mark ballot, where young people can vote on the issues that matter to them.
The celebration event will also be an opportunity to meet with the candidates hoping to be Kian and William’s successors.
Full details on all 15 candidates in the 2017 Youth Elections can be found on the council’s website at www.northlincs.gov.uk/youthelections
Coun David Rose, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Learning on North Lincolnshire Council, said: “As Kian’s and William’s time in their roles comes to an end I would like to thank them for their dedication and hard work during the past year and a half. They have both worked tirelessly on behalf of all North Lincolnshire’s young people and will be a hard act to follow.
“Young people in North Lincolnshire now have the opportunity to choose who they want to represent their views and be their voice for the next two years. Don’t miss your chance to vote between 30 January and 10 February.”

NF ADDS: Brigg Town Council has a young member in its ranks - Coun Luke Sherwood, pictured above - who contributes to debates in the Angel Suite, which is  good to see. However, having checked the lists of those candidates for the post of Young Mayor of North Lincolnshire and Members of the Youth Parliament, provided by North Lincolnshire Council, there are none from Sir John Nelthorpe School (pictured above) or the Vale Academy. Our nearest  two candidates are from Huntcliff at Kirton Lindsey. However, we hope that many youngsters from the Brigg area will still vote in the elections.
We reported recently that Brigg Town Mayor Coun Ann Eardley reckons  young people of the town she talks to would like to see a McDonald's restaurant or a Subway outlet established near the town centre. However, this view was not pressed home by young people during the all-day Brigg Neighbourhood Plan consultation exercise held late last year in the Buttercross.  So it had to be concluded that there was very little support for the draft option of earmarking a site for a major fast food chain. Only a handful of people supported this at the consultation.