Name: Sean Barnes

Position: MYP

Constituency: Milton Keynes

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Which political issues are you most passionate about?

I feel very passionate about lowering the voting age to 16. I spoke about this issue in the UKYP House of Commons debates, in my speech strongly in favour I said “Morally, allowing people to vote at 16 is the right thing to do. At the moment, under-18s are under-represented in Parliament. As has already been said, at 16 you can join the Army, get married with consent, have children, move out of your home and pay tax. If MPs are serious about reforming and cleaning up the UK’s politics, they will be taking a step in the right direction and lower the voting age to 16."

What do you feel is the biggest issue for young people in your constituency?

I would say travel is the biggest issue at the moment. Price is not the problem - the biggest issue is lack of busses in the morning to get to college and at nights and weekends for social activities. Young people are being excluded by not having a frequent bus at these times. I will continue to campaign on these transport issues until more is provided.

What do you hope to achieve during your term of office?

Locally in Milton Keynes the All in 1 Card should launch and get a really good response. Also our local campaign to get political education in Milton Keynes should be in all Secondary schools in Milton Keynes and all the pupils will hopefully be benefitting from this. As well as this I hope to build stronger links with my local councillors and make more links in the UK Youth Parliament as well.

What is your future career ambition?

Politically in the future I hope to stand as a councillor in Milton Keynes and I would do the best I can to represent my constituents if elected. If this goes well one day I may even become an MP… who knows?

Which public figure do you most admire and why?

Vince Cable MP for Twickenham & Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. I admire Vince because he said “the credit bubble will burst” then inevitably the recession struck. Also he showed real leadership as a chancellor on the Channel 4 Chancellor debates.

If there was one message you could send to the government, what would it be?

Lower the voting age to 16. Over 1.5 million 16 and 17 year olds are denied the vote in the United Kingdom. For years there has been a consistent demand from young people for Votes at 16, and a clear case for change, that case is now overwhelming. The Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Austria have all done it, now it’s the UK’s turn!

Additional comments:

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Please visit my website: www.seanbarnesmk.co.uk

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