Speaker Welcomes Youngest Person to Speak in Commons Chamber
By Jill Dando News
A schoolboy from the remotest community in the world will make history as the youngest person to speak in the House of Commons Chamber.
Owen Glass will be the first person from Tristan da Cunha – a tiny island in the South Atlantic, 1,750 miles from Cape Town in South Africa – to give a speech during the annual sitting of the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) on 28 February.
The 10-year-old, whose journey to the UK took over a week by sea and air, said he was ‘very excited’ to be speaking about life on the British Overseas Territory, which has a population of 230 people, one school, one pub, and no restaurants.
‘The biggest audience I have ever spoken to before was as a wise man in the school nativity, which was watched by half the island,’ he said.
‘I am very excited to be given this opportunity to speak in the House of Commons, and to see famous landmarks like the clock tower of Big Ben.’
Owen, who has ambitions to be a car mechanic, will be among 10 representatives of the British Overseas Territories and three from the Crown Dependencies invited to participate in the annual gathering of young people from across the UK by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
Sir Lindsay said he was ‘very proud that this sitting of the UK Youth Parliament will hear from such a broad range of young voices.
‘I cannot wait to hear the thoughts and views of young people from across the UK, the British Overseas Territories (OTs), and the Crown Dependencies (CDs), on the issues that matter to them,’ he added.
Some 261 young people aged between 11 and 18 years will take over the Commons Chamber on Friday, 28 February, from 1100 hrs.
They will debate issues ranging from votes for 16 and 17 year-olds, the National Minimum Wage, period dignity, to access to political literacy and democratic education, and free public transport for young people.
