Name: Emma Chadwick

Position: MYP

Constituency: Leeds

Which political issues are you most passionate about?

A big one for me has to be improving the public’s perception of young people. I think we get so much bad press and the word 'youth' seems to be too often used as a negative thing in the media. I'm also passionate about health care in Britain, especially for mental health. I think it's one of the things that needs to be improved.

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

I live in south Leeds and in my area there is a lot of misuse of drugs, especially by young people. I think it's easy for a young person to be sucked into it as it is so easily available. At the same time there's a lot of pressure to do well in school and it's hard to find the balance between school life and a social one.

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

One of the things I'd really like to focus on is mental health care for young people. It's a big one to do but I think if we can try tackle awareness and raise the issue it may get the ball rolling. This is part of my region’s campaign so I'm looking forward to getting involved.

What is your future career ambition?

Well obviously politics is very important to me and I would love to pursue that in the future. However, I think to be a good politician you need to have life experience so it wouldn't be something I'd go into straight away. My favourite subject and 'talent' I suppose is maths. I love it. That’s what I’d like to go on to do at university.

Which public figure do you most admire and why?

Well Stephen Fry comes to mind immediately. The way he retains so much knowledge is amazing. Yet, he doesn't take himself too seriously which I think is very endearing. My absolute idol though is Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. I think it's wonderful how he tackles so many important issues like politics and religion in his music without taking it too far. He's also a family man which I think is important.

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

Tough one. If I could only send one message it would probably be; listen to the people. Politicians are representatives and I think it's easy for them to lose sight of that.

Additional comments:

I've only been a part of the UKYP for a few months and so far I've loved every minute of it. The people are excellent and I can't wait for the Annual Sitting when I'll get to meet MYPs/DMYPs from all over the country. Very exciting. And to any young person who wants to get involved or ask any questions you should definitely get in touch with your local MYP.

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