An Ammanford teenager has called on the new prime minister to ensure youth voices are considered in government policy.
17-year-old Tarian, personally delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street requesting a Youth Pledge be supported by the new government.
The pledge would ensure that young voices are taken into account at all levels of government policy and decision making.
As Duke of Edinburgh’s Award holders, Tarian alongside Poppy and Ved, presented the letter on behalf of the UK's DofE youth population.
This comes after the release of a major study called Youth Voices 2024, which gathered the views of more than 3,000 14-24 year-olds from across the UK on various political and personal matters.
The study showed that young people, by a majority, feel the government does not listen to, or doesn't adequately acknowledge, their concerns.
The participants mentioned that the most burning issues for them were housing costs (38 per cent), health service matters (37 per cent), the general cost of living (37 per cent), and mental health (33 per cent), topics they believe politicians tend to rank as less critical.
The teenagers saw Larry the cat on their Downing Street visit (Image: Duke of Edinburgh Award)
A significant proportion of the surveyed youth said too little attention was given to mental health, the NHS and job prospects.
Part of the letter said: "We feel that the opportunities afforded to our parents’ generation are out of reach to ours.
"A healthy democracy needs to engage young people fully to thrive.
"As our new Prime Minister, you have an invaluable opportunity to act, reset the dial and show you’re listening to young people.
"Now is the moment to show that our voices really do matter. We urge you to back our Youth Pledge and encourage other MPs to do the same."
Following this, the three young advocates had a meeting with the shadow minister for women & equalities, Mims Davies MP, to further press on their pledge.
Tarian said: "For too long, young people like me have been shut out of the conversation and having our views overlooked by adults who are making decisions that will affect the rest of our lives."
"Our views and experiences matter too, and politicians can learn from what we have to say.
"Policy makers must consult us on decisions that affect us. We are the future of this country and we deserve a seat at the table."
Ruth Marvel of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, said: "Our findings clearly show that young people are ambitious for their own futures but they continue to feel unheard and unsupported on the issues that will define their lives and careers."
The full letter as well as 2024 Youth Voices’ research can be viewed on the DofE’s website.
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