Local councillor shadowing programme

Today's general election announcement means that the Local Councillor Shadowing Programme will be suspended during the purdah period - i.e. until a new Government is formed.

This decision has been taken following meetings with our funders (Department for Children, Schools and Families & Communities and Local Government Department) in the interests of impartiality and prohibited publicity.

If you have any questions or queries regarding this please contact Henry @ BYC: henry.tapp@byc.org.uk .

By ANDREW GRAY

When I applied to do the Cllr Shadowing Programme I was expecting to spend the full 25hrs sitting in meetings and listening to reports. However, this was not to be the case as I attended the Mayors Christmas Concert, went to London and met my Member of Parliament (MP)!

Here is some inspiring poetry from a couple of our participants in Birmingham based on their shadowing experience with the City Council.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced his support for lowering the age of voting in this country to 16, a move both the British Youth Council and The Youth of Today fully support.

It is widely acnowledged that at 16, you can leave school, work full time and pay taxes, leave home, get married, join the armed forces, and make lots of decisions about our future.

Despite this, under-18s are still prevented from casting their vote for the very people that dictate how their taxes are spent!!

Just before Christmas, Tulip Radio interviewed two young people who participated in The Youth of Today's Local Councillor Shadowing Programme with South Holland District Council.

The participants, who were accompanied by the councillors who they shadowed, discussed leadership, local politics and the future of youth for an hour answering questions from journalists in the studio.

The interview was incredibly inspiring and highlights how the programme can mutually help participants and councillors in solving important local issues.

The ASDAN accredited Local Councillor Shadowing Programme now has over 40 councils signed up nationwide, with more set to get involved in the coming weeks.

The programme sees participants shadow their local representatives for 25 hours of activities in a period of up to 6 weeks, with a £150 bursary offered to cover travel and subsistence costs.

The scheme has been very well received by participants with a large number subsequently enthused to take a more active role in local politics and community issues.

Cllr John Baverstock   (Conservative) - Weeks come and go but one in October was to be rather special. 

I have really enjoyed my council shadowing and am extremely grateful for having had this excellent opportunity offered to me. The council has welcomed me with open arms and have invited me to all sorts of different meetings, some more exciting than others, but always with consideration as to what I can participate in and giving me the chance to ask questions whenever possible. I think as a future improvement, many more students of our age should be encouraged to be included.

The experience of shadowing my local councillor was both informative and exciting and it has truly opened my eyes to the workings of government on a local level. Taking part in the programme has forced me to recognise that I knew very little about how the decisions affecting my own community are made, and that a vast amount of young people are, especially concerning local government, politically illiterate.

Money and politics.

A combination that has caused such a stir over the last 12 months, that MPs now face the kind of public backlash which has never been seen by many young people.

The expenses scandal explicitly proves that our senior elected officials are as human as the rest of us but let it not detract from the fantastic work that is being done by other politicians, importantly at a local level.