Young people can now cast their vote to elect 12 members to the newly restructured Cornwall Youth Council.  

Voting is taking place in 17 schools and five college campuses with 17,000 votes expected to be cast making this Cornwall’s biggest ever youth election. 

As well as the youth council elections, schools and young people are also being asked to take part in a national vote called Make Your Mark which asks them what the most important issues are for young people in the UK. 

Cornwall Youth Council is part of Cornwall Council and exists to make sure the voices of children and young people are heard and taken seriously, as stated in Article 12 of the UNCRC. 

Cornwall Council’s Children’s Rights team is now encouraging young people across all our communities to get involved and cast their vote, with the support of their teachers, parents and carers. 

Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, cabinet member for children and families at Cornwall Council, said: “Cornwall Youth Council is a brilliant organisation that makes a real difference in shaping the future of Cornwall for children and young people. 

“I hope everyone has fun reading the manifestos of the candidates and finding out what each stands for before casting their vote. I’d also urge all the teachers, mums, dads and carers out there to do whatever they can to help make Cornwall’s biggest ever youth election a huge success.” 

The existing youth council members reviewed their current membership and roles and voted to restructure to be more representative from both a geographic and diversity perspective.  

The first part of this restructure is to elect 12 young people from the six constituent areas in Cornwall. 

To enable fairness and non-bias all candidates will remain anonymous and young people will vote on manifesto summaries. 

This year, Members of Youth Parliament will be elected once the Cornwall Youth Council elections have taken place and those elected members will then elect MYPs. 

To find out more and get involved email [email protected]