The Big Vote 2013 - South Down MYP Voting & Outcomes

TUITION FEES
I am in favour of free higher education. It is in my mind the best way to stop access to tertiary education being elitist, and in my mind would play an important part in equalising the status of techs, apprenticeships and university. If none cost money to take part in, there would be no view that one route was better than another. Lowering Tuition Fees I voted NO because I dont feel the policy went far enough. Going back to what we had before is not calling for inspired and progressive solutions. Free Higher Education I voted YES on this policy for the reasons outlined above. No to tuition fees, yes to graduate tax I voted NO on current UKYP policy in favour of free higher education. All three policies fell and UKYP currently does not have a policy on tuition fees.

VOTING AGE
I am 100% in favour of 16 and 17 year olds being able to vote in all public elections in the UK. This has been shown through my work on the campaign, including visiting the YO! Fest in Brussels to debate Votes at 16 with representatives from various youth organisations. Voting Age - consultation on what age young people should be able to vote at I voted NO, because this was a non-policy. The speaker in her speech revealed she believed the age should be set at 16, making the policy irrelevant. Universal Age Boundary I voted NO. I am vehemently against this. Young people do not wake up one morning and become adults. They mature financially, mentally and physically at different times and gradually. Therefore it is appropriate to have differing thresholds of adulthood for different circumstances. Votes for 16/17 year olds I of course voted YES

MINIMUM WAGE
I believe that, although on the surface it may seem unfair for young people to be paid less for doing the same work - we have to recognise that a lower wage for younger people might encourage employers to essentially take the risk on less experienced young people - thereby allowing them onto the work ladder. I therefore support a policy

of two payment tiers. 16 year olds would be paid equally to 19 year olds, and those older would receive a higher minimum wage. Living Wage - National Minimum Wage to be raised in line with living wage to guarantee good standard of living. I voted YES on the policy to ensure that whatever band you are on you receive enough to live on. Equal Minimum Wage for All I voted NO on this policy because I believe that it would lead to employers not wanting to take the chance on young school leavers or first time workers, when it essentially costs them the same as a 40 year old who has been working in a similar job most of their life. Two tiered minimum wage I voted YES for the reasons outlined above.

YOUTH DEMOCRACY
Increased Awareness of Youth Democracy I voted NO on this policy not because I disagree with the principal of the motion, but because I believe it is our job as elected MYPs to get the word out as to what exactly we do - it has no need to be a held policy in our public facing manifesto. In fact my worry was if we adopt this policy then it would make UKYP look insular and self-indulgent.

APPRENTICESHIPS
Apprenticeships awareness should be improved and they should be seen as equal to a university course. I voted YES on this policy. I believe we need to embrace the German model, where it does not matter if you go to Uni or take up a more vocational route. There is no stigma, allowing people to choose the path best suitable for them.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Increased positive media coverage for young people I voted YES on this policy, because although it seems like something young people should be pushing themselves for, I think it is important that UKYP as an organisation holds the official position that young people are often unfairly treated by the media.

LINKS WITH SCHOOLS

Links with Schools - an elected rep from every school to liaise with MYP and further links I voted NO because I dont think another set of elections is needed. I think as an MYP we should be doing all we can anyway to meet the needs of all our constituents. I think more elections and more representatives would only cause more disinterest.

TRANSPORT
Single concessionary card for public transport I voted NO, simply because a) a similar scheme (yLink) already exists in NI and b) I dont think it would work in England with the regional variations and different transport companies, leading to another overly-ambitious UKYP campaign and another public failure.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Compulsory Work Experience I voted YES. Although most schools in NI I am aware of do offer some degree of work experience, I think it is an opportunity that should be offered to every single young person in the UK, so they can have a chance to test the water with career ideas, whilst having a taste of the working world.

EXAMS
I think NI has one of the best education systems. I think at the backbone of that is good teachers, but also a good exam system. There are certainly changes to be made, and I think we do need to make provisions to allow pupils to shine outside of traditional formal examinations, but I dont think we need to totally throw out the rulebook. Less focus on exams I voted YES. I think we do need to allow pupils who arent suited to exams to have a chance to excel through coursework, assignments and classwork projects in addition to the traditional sit down formal exams. Less focus on written exams I voted NO. As I said, I think the rigourous exam system we have is good for allowing pupils to prepare for Uni and the wider world of work. It should not be replaced, but rather augmented with other forms of assessment. Internally marked annual assessments I voted NO. I think this is already provided sufficiently in NI (Christmas and Summer exams) and I think over-testing young people will only lead to stress and poor mental health.

JOBS
Creation of more jobs I ABSTAINED on this policy. Simply because it was not clear where we were calling for jobs to come from. I dont believe we should be simply calling for the government to pump out jobs for young people, we should be encouraging private sector growth and helping young people create their own jobs.

INVOLVEMENT WITH MP
Further involvement with MP Again, I voted NO. It should not be the UKYP policy that we meet with our MP, it should be something that we do every single day as an elected MP, not a public-facing policy. It shows self-interest and is a poorly thought out policy for UKYP to be holding. _________ As I said, I was unhappy that I wasnt able to speak on some of the policies I wanted to, including LGBT policies and Mental Health motions. I hope to be able to raise these issues through Make Your Mark and the House of Commons debate.