Hadyn Cutler MYP

As I write this very sentence, I’m on a train in between Hull and Doncaster. Me and the other Kent MYPs have just left the UK Youth Parliament annual conference 2022, hosted at the University of Hull. Here’s what happened.

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Friday

After a long train journey and fun with taxis, we arrived at the university. Checked in and bags dropped in our rooms, the opening ceremony was found and speeches were given from the Bank of England Youth Forum, Joe Seddon, Zara Khan, and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Climate Assembly.

We had a quick break, and then made our way to the regions and nations session where we were briefed on the event, talked about what changes we have made locally and nationally, and how we can make the most of the weekend.

After scoffing down dinner we had a ‘choice’ evening which involved a movie or a quiz, and then we headed to bed.

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Saturday

Breakfast passed, and we moved on to our second round of regional sessions, this time chatting about our focus groups. We discussed the benefits and faults of these groups, and planned for the next round of them.

After this came the big vote, which involves voting on the issues that matter to young people. The motions that were being debated were the same motions we submitted in June. If a motion gets over 50% of the votes (excluding abstain votes), it passes and gets added to the UKYP manifesto for 2022-23. My voting record can be found at the end of this article.

There was 5 hours and 30 minutes of this, but time passes quickly and soon we had the UKYP summer party. Following a delicious three-course meal, we had an epic disco. MYPs know how to party!

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Sunday

The final day of the conference; all good things must come to an end. We had breakfast, dropped off our bags, checked out, and headed for the lecture theatre. A final round of debating in the big vote ensued, and we ended the conference with the closing ceremony, which included a speech by Jesse Williams.

And that’s it! The UKYP annual conference of 2022 is over. But this isn’t it for my UKYP term. KYCC is still occurring, of course, and I’ll be doing other ventures related to being an MYP. But for now, thanks for reading!

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Big Vote – Voting Record

Formatted as: [Motion number] [Motion title] [Devolved/Reserved] [Category] – [Vote (Agree/Disagree/Abstain)] [Status (Passed/Failed)]

All motions can be found here.

Every motion where I vote disagree I will provide reasoning,

1. A Curriculum For Life (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

2. Mental Health Services (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

3. Transport (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Agree, Pass

4. Mental Health In Schools (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

5. The Climate Crisis (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

6. Mental Health Education (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

7. Votes At 16 (Reserved) (Our Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

8. Anti-Discrimination Education (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

9. Green Schools (Devolved) (Environment) – Abstain, Fail

10. Promoting Diversity (Devolved) (Equality) – Agree, Pass

11. Mental Health Funding (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

12. Standardised Minimum Wage (Reserved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

13. Careers Advice (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Abstain, Pass

14. Knife Crime (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Agree, Pass

15. LGBTQ+ Inclusivity (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

16. Healthy Relationship Education (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

17. Youth Councils (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Agree, Pass

18. Plastic Waste (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

19. Free Education (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Abstain, Pass

20. Uniform (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

21. Recycling and Waste Management (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

22. Homelessness (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Agree, Pass

23. Vaping (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Abstain, Pass

24. Child Food Poverty (Devolved) (Poverty) – Agree, Pass

25. Animal Welfare (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

26. A Diverse Curriculum (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

27. Invisible Disabilities (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

28. Tackling Racism and Hate (N/A) (Equality) – Agree, Pass

29. Education for Life/Post 16 (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

30. Education and Poverty (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

31. Tackling Bullying (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

32. Youth Voice in Mental Health (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

33. Mental Health Stigma (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

34. Spiking (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

35. Young Carers (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – [VOTE NOT RECORDED], Pass

36. Sexual Harassment (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

37. Violence Against Women and Girls (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

38. History Education in Northern Ireland (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

39. Employment Gap (Reserved) (Equality) – Abstain, Pass

Motions past this point were voted on online. Statistics can be found here.

40. Transport in the Isle of Wight (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Abstain, Pass

41. Minority Languages Rights (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Abstain, Pass

42. Reading for Pleasure (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Abstain, Pass

43. Lough Neagh (Devolved) (Environment) – Abstain, Pass

44. Young Refugees (Reserved) (Equality) – Agree, Pass

45. Protest and Peaceful Assembly (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

46. Green Spaces (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

47. Youth Voice (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

48. Mental Health Services – Northern Ireland (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Abstain, Pass

49. Lad Culture (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

50. Job Creation in Rural Areas (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Abstain, Pass

51. Democratic Schools (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

52. LGBTQ+ in Education (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

53. Sex Education in Northern Ireland (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Abstain, Pass

54. Youth Councils in Wales (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Abstain, Pass

55. Increasing Youth Democracy (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

56. First Aid (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

57. Early Mental Health Intervention (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

58. Banking Investments into Fossil Fuels (Reserved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

59. Classism in Universities (Devolved) (Equality) – Agree, Pass

60. Optional Period Leave (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Disagree [Reasoning – TLDR: Whilst I agree with the core message of this policy, I believe it could be written better to ensure that the consequences don’t end out worse than intended], Pass

61. Support Services for Survivors of Sexual Harassment (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

62. Disability Equality Legislation (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

63. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

64. Period Equality (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

65. Rural Infrastructure (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Agree, Pass

66. Funding Youth Services (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Agree, Pass

67. Young Workers’ Rights (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Abstain, Pass

68. Recognise Palestine as a State (Reserved) (International) – Agree, Pass

69. Talking about Poverty in School (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

70. Exam Standards (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

71. Rewilding (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

72. Barnahus Model (Devolved) (Money, Jobs, Homes, Opportunities) – Abstain, Pass

73. Financial Education (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

74. Protect Nature (Devolved) (Environment) – Disagree [Reasoning – Everything in this motion is great, but it falls in the request to “Ban the destruction of natural forest and wildlife for any purpose in order to protect nature”. I entirely disagree on this front and therefore cannot give my support to this motion], Pass

75. Nightlife Safety for Women (Reserved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

76. Impact of Discrimination on Mental Health (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

77. COVID-19 and BAME Young People’s Unemployment (Devolved) (Equality) – Agree, Pass

78. Eating Disorders (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

79. Online Safety – Social Media Platforms (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

80. Growing Fresh and Local (Devolved) (Environment) – Disagree [Reasoning – In a cost of living crisis, where every penny spent by government counts, I don’t believe that subsidising the price of seeds is the best spending of taxpayer money], Pass

81. School Curriculum Decisions (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

82. British Sign Language (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Abstain, Pass

83. Transport Fares and Inequality (Devolved) (Equality) – Agree, Pass

84. UK Complicity in Human Rights Abuses (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

85. Freedom of Individuality (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

86. Legislative Change to Protect Victims of Revenge Porn (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

87. Youth Safety and Empowerment (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

88. Child Abuse (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

89. Bereavement Support (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

90. Bursary for Student Carers (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

91. Mosquito Devices (Reserved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

92. A Circular Economy (Reserved) (Environment) – Agree, Pass

93. Nutrition (Devolved) (Health and Wellbeing) – Abstain, Pass

94. Data Literacy (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

95. Stand with Uyghurs (Reserved) (International) – Agree, Pass

96. Green Transport (Devolved) (Environment) – Agree [Conflict of Interest – I proposed this motion], Pass

97. Support 16 Days of Action to End Violence Against Women (Reserved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

98. Phones in Schools (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

99. Breaking the Chain: Knife Crime (N/A) (Health and Wellbeing) – Agree, Pass

100. School Funding Cuts (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

101. Raise the Minimum Age for Recruitment to Military (Reserved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

102. Religious Dietary Requirements (Devolved) (Education and Learning) – Agree, Pass

103. Religiously-Motivated Discrimination (Devolved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

104. Condemning Immigration Raids (Reserved) (Rights and Democracy) – Abstain, Pass

105. Outdoor Learning (Devolved) (Health and Learning) – Agree, Pass

106. Pet Passport Scheme (Reserved) (Rights and Democracy) – Agree, Pass

107. Helping Low Income Families (Devolved) (Poverty) – Agree, Pass

End of voting record