Call for young West Norfolk politicians
A RALLYING call has been made for young people in West Norfolk to develop their interest in politics and help create a new youth council for the borough.
Cllr Derrick Murphy, West Norfolk Council member for Gaywood Chase, believes a youth council could play a key role in the region as more and more young people have become disengaged with politics and the decision-making process.
He has been inspired by the success of Hunstanton Youth Council, which was created to give young people a say on what goes on in the town, and would now like to see similar projects created.
Cllr Murphy, who is also a member of Watlington Parish Council, said: "At the moment we are facing a local government review. The one thing which has come out of it is that there must be a mechanism in place to allow young people to voice their opinions on things.
"There is a whole issue about the credibility of politics at the moment. We need to engage the 16 to 25-year-olds. If I was their age and someone was telling me what was for the best I would be cheesed off.
"We need to know about the things they would like to see, but at present they are not engaged in the process."
Cllr Murphy said he will be taking a closer look at Hunstanton and other youth councils across the country in a bid to develop his idea further.
He said: "My own experience of people this age is that they are interested in the politics of saving the planet, environmental issues and global warming but not the traditional party politics.
"They are as passionate and keen as anyone. All we have to do is channel that into a format which is not considered boring.
"It is something that could be very, very big. If they are turned off now it will be very difficult to get them involved later on.
"There is so much which affects them locally I believe they could come up with lots of very good ideas."
If anyone is interested in discussing plans for a youth council with Cllr Murphy he can be contacted via e-mail at cllr.derrick.murphy@west-norfolk.gov.u
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Weather for King's Lynn
Saturday 26 May 2012
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