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Youth Cabinet and Youth Parliament Joint Cabinet Board Debate: 6/9/18

By Josh Patterson on September 7, 2018 • ( 0 )

Introduction

At 17:45, the Youth Cabinet/ Parliament and the main West Sussex Cabinet board entered the Chamber in West Sussex County Hall. Each of us had 3 minutes to speak using the West Sussex traffic light system. The debate was all about a recent campaign we have been working on called Votes@16 which is to reduce the voting age from 18 years of age to 16 years of age. We all had our own desk with a microphone, where we signaled to enable our microphones to work. We didn’t split into opposing groups such as “for”, “against” and “abstentions”, instead we sat wherever we wanted in the chamber. At 18:00, we began our debate.

What happened?

We all sat down in the chamber with Caz Henry-Evans, Mr Chairman and Ellie Roberts (Chairman of the Youth Cabinet) all sitting upfront. Mr Chairman began the debate by introducing Will Nyss (Youth Cabinet) to speak as well as Michael Jones (County Councillor) for the motion. Secondly, Ellis Brundle (Youth Cabinet) and Jacky Pendleton were introduced to speak against the motion. After their speeches, everyone who’d liked to speak for and against the motion were enabled to for a short while. Many interesting and appropriate comments were made for and against Votes@16 such as:

Many 16 year olds won’t care
Immaturity is a playing factor
There aren’t many refurendums and general elections to vote upon anyways so the age one may vote could be a long time after 16 years of age.
It is not compulsory for anyone to vote
With media most people have a broader understanding of law and politics

Then I (Youth Cabinet) and Paul Marshall were welcomed to sum up the event for the motion bringing up some points from the debate and some of our own. Because I summed up the debate, I was typing up my speech during the debate so it didn’t sound the best but I got my point across. Then Esme King (Youth Cabinet) and Gillian Keegan summed up the debate against the motion with their speeches.

What Happened Next?

Next, we were asked to vote for the motion, against the motion and if we had any abstinence. The results were:

For the motion- 25

Against the motion- 8

Abstentions- 3

Conclusion

Louise Goldsmith and Caroline Nicholls both concluded the event and announced she would love another event like this next year.

The event was great and the result turned out well and we hope that we have made an impact on the county councilors.

Our next Youth Cabinet meeting is on Thursday 4th October 2018.

Find out more about the West Sussex Youth Cabinet

-Josh Patterson