Portsmouth councillors call on government to save UK Youth Parliament

Portsmouth councillors have called on the government to reverse plans that could see the UK Youth Parliament axed.

In September, it was reported that the UK Youth Parliament could face closure after March 2027, with the government yet to commit funding beyond the 2026/27 financial year.

The Youth Parliament is a national initiative giving 11 to 18-year-olds a platform to represent their peers, debate issues, campaign for change and influence decision-makers.

The government has provided £453,000 to run the programme until March 2027, allowing current members to complete their terms. However, a new initiative targeting under-represented groups is planned to replace it.

An October 2025 Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) evaluation cited low public awareness and barriers to school access as reasons for redesigning the programme.

Introducing her motion, Councillor Kimberly Barrett stressed the importance of “making sure that our young people have a voice and more importantly that we actually listen to them”.

She said: “Too often I hear that young people feel like politics is something that happens around them rather than something they can be part of.”

She said the Youth Parliament offers young people the “opportunity to represent their peers, campaign on a various amount of issues that matter to them but also engage directly with decision makers from where they live”.

She said the lack of a funding commitment had left young people “feeling considerable uncertainty”.

“The government have spoken about lowering the voting age to 16 and these are ambitions I welcome but they must be matched by real and practical support.”

Councillor Simon Bosher tabled an amendment calling for responses from the city’s MPs to be published, or confirmation of whether they had replied.

Maya Choudhury, Portsmouth’s Member of UK Youth Parliament and leader of the Portsmouth Youth Cabinet, described the Youth Parliament as “a platform and a community”.

“It gives young people who are often overlooked in political discussions a chance to come together, share their experiences, raise the issues that matter to them and campaign for meaningful change.

“We regularly hear politicians say that children are the future, but I want to challenge that idea. We are not just the future we are the present, decisions made by politicians today affect our education, our mental health, our opportunities and our futures.”

She added that it offers “opportunities to attend residential conferences, meet decision makers, develop their confidence, build leadership skills and for some, speak in the House of Commons”.

Council leader Councillor Steve Pitt recounted being “grilled” for more than an hour by the local Youth Cabinet, which put forward some difficult questions.

He said: “Some of them asked questions more difficult than anything I get asked in this chamber.”

On the uncertainty surrounding the Youth Parliament’s future, he said: “This is a tiny amount of money, of all the things national government should be spending their time thinking about – to be tinkering around for a few quid that helps some active and interested young people play a bigger role in society, I think this government needs to get a grip.”

Labour councillor Graham Heaney said the government was reviewing the programme and could make changes, adding that it could not commit funding until a decision had been made.

He added: “I certainly don’t think that the govt is looking to cut out the youth parliament completely – it would be contradictory to what they said about youth voting.”

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said no decision had been made about the future of the UK Youth Parliament beyond March 2027.

It said it was working with young people and partner organisations to develop its youth democracy strategy, with a focus on increasing participation among under-represented groups.

Further announcements are expected in the coming months.