United Kingdom Youth Parliament (UKYP)

The UKYP is a charitable organisation that is commited to getting young people (13 - 19) involved in politics.

The UKYP was formed in 2000 and it now consists of around 600 members, all democratically voted in with over 50,000 young people voting in 90% of constituencies.

Creation
The entire idea of the UKYP originated at an event in Coventry entitled "Heirs To The Millenium". At the end of the event the NSPCC, a youth worker, Kate Parish, and Andrew Rowe MP began to develope the propostion of a youth advocacy group. In 1998 a group was created, consisting of Andrew Rowe and a few youung people.

In 2000, Malcolm Wicks, from the Department for Education and Employment, agreed to employ a member of staff who would work full time on developing the UK Youth Parliament alongside Kate Parish. Soon after, the first elections for the UK Youth Parliament were held, with the first Annual Sitting being held in February 2000.