Sunderland chooses new Youth Parliament representatives

Faye Drinkald, 17, from the city’s Southmoor School, and Harvey Gordon, 17, from Bede College, will represent the views of Sunderland young people for until February 2022 after triumphing in the recent poll.

Young people from every local authority in the UK feed their local issues into the national arena and the Youth Parliament meets nationally on an annual basis.

This is the eighth time Sunderland has participated in the elections to appoint youth representatives and the pair were chosen after a poll of nearly 5,500 people.

This year nine candidates stood for two seats to represent Sunderland’s young people in a ballot organised by Together for Children, which delivers children’s services on behalf of Sunderland City Council.

Jill Colbert, the chief executive of Together for Children, which runs children’s services on behalf of Sunderland City Council, announced the winners at the organisation’s head office.

She said: “The Youth Parliament gives young people a say on the issues that matter to them, as well as an understanding of government and the opportunity to act as ambassadors for their school and wider community.”

Faye said: “Young people want to make a difference and a positive contribution and that’s what I want to do.”

Harvey added: “I’m proud to be elected to represent the views of young people from Sunderland.”

To find out more about the UK Youth Parliament, visit www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk.