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Luke

Luke is 17 years-old and from Hastings, East Sussex. As an active member of his local community and Member of UK Youth Parliament (UKYP), Luke's fighting for better rights and services for young people. We follow our young activist on his political path and find out how he manages to fit everything into his crazy schedule.
Entry: 1
Date: 19/07/2007

Meeting council leaders, studying for A-levels and campaigning for better sexual health education it's all part of normal day for Luke as he reflects on how politics has given him new-found confidence and amazing opportunities.

My name's Luke, I'm 17 years-old and studying for my A levels in Politics, Maths, English Language and Literature, Modern History and Economics. I've lived in Hastings in East Sussex for six years, but from the age of seven to 11, I lived in New Zealand in the City of Auckland, which was a great experience that I'll never forget. I'm an only child, although luckily I don't think this has made me too spoiled!

I do lots of voluntary work in my local area and at a national level. I'm the Elected Member of the UK Youth Parliament for Hastings and Rother and I'm also the Chairman of my local youth council in Hastings. I was elected as the Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) about a year-and-a-half ago and I've been a Chairman of my Youth Council for just over a year. I was also elected as the Member of Youth Parliament in December 2005 after an election campaign which involved me visiting schools and speaking to up to 1,000 pupils at a time - scary stuff! The main points I campaigned on during my election campaign included better sexual health education, votes at 16, and more services for young people. I was delighted when I was elected.

My first year as MYP (an MYP is elected to serve a one year term) was very busy and I got stuck straight into the issues I'd told young people that I'd take up if they elected me. I met with council leaders about funding for town centre activities in Hastings, and government ministers about lowering the voting age to 16. I was also involved in publishing a report on the state of sex and relationships education in schools after we asked over 21,000 young people in the UK for their opinions. I feel it's very important that we send the Government a clear message that sex and relationships education needs to be made compulsory and that the standard needs to improve. I made presentations to my Children's Trust Executive Group to get funding for improved drug and alcohol help services in colleges, met with minister Gillian Merron about free public transport for young people, and set up a school recycling scheme in my area.

First year success

"I feel it's very important that we send the Government a clear message that sex and relationships education needs to be made compulsory and that the standard needs to improve."

I was amazed at just how much I managed to achieve in my first year and decided to stand for election again. I was over the moon to get re-elected and have been developing the Votes at 16 campaign. I've designed a survey that's going to be sent out nationally and I'm campaigning for the Government to make it easier for all schools to recycle.

I've learned so many skills from being an MYP and getting involved with my Youth Council. I used to be a lot less confident, but since I've been in these roles I'm far more outspoken and have learnt how to affect change at all sorts of levels. It's made me realise that instead of just talking about what you think should happen, if you actually do something about it, you can really achieve big things. I take a lot of pride in my role, but I always try and keep sight of the fact that it was young people that elected me and it's my job to serve their interests, rather than what I'd like to see happen.

Work hard, play hard

As you can probably imagine, these roles keep me pretty busy, and out of trouble! When I do have free time I love seeing my mates and my girlfriend Katrina. I also enjoy meeting new people and getting on with tasks. On the downside, I can get a bit irritable sometimes with a lot of 'talk but no action' and can rush in to things a bit too quickly. I'm a keen supporter of Manchester United, and love to keep clued-up with current affairs. I've also got to admit that I'm a Coronation Street fan, which is extremely sad, but one thing I can't stand is reality TV, especially Big Brother.

I hope that with my diaries I can give you an insight about some of the work I do, as well as what's going on in my world.


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