Borehamwood pupil in historic House of Lords debate

8:57am Thursday 8th May 2008

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Borehamwood teenager Megan de Meo was part of a team of youngsters which made history by opening and closing a House of Lords debate last Friday.

The Hertswood School pupil is a member of the UK Youth Parliament and was one of 300 MYPs invited to sit in the Houses of Parliament for the first time.Six children from Hertfordshire attended the three-hour sitting, with Alex Knight, of Bengeo, opening a debate on whether the voting age should be lowered to 16.Youngsters aged between 11 and 18 then voted on the three issues they should campaign on during the next year. They chose: recycling and the environment, a national transport concession card, and university tuition fees.Megan said: "It was a really good experience. I had been to visit Parliament before but never for anything like this. We sat in the chamber and discussed what we would do. "There were people to represent each possible campaign and these three were chosen after the debate."It has been a good opportunity being elected to the youth parliament and I have met a lot of people my own age with different views."Councillor Jane Pitman, lead member for Hertfordshire County Council's children's services, said: "It was a unique opportunity for young people to take the national stage to put forward their views."We want young people to have their say to help us shape services for the future. The House of Lords debate was an impressive occasion and the Hertfordshire contingent rose to it superbly."The debates were chaired by The Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, who said that part of her role was to make the House of Lords more accessible to young people.