THE representative for Gloucestershire on the UK Youth Parliament took part in a debate at the House of Commons to decide the parliament’s priority campaigns for 2016, earlier this month.

Alysha Bodman joined almost 300 elected members in the debate which was chaired by speaker of the House of Commons the John Bercow on Friday, November 13.

The 16-year-old was selected to represent the South West to deliver a speech about the relevance of Magna Carta which she linked to the topic of gender equality.

Alysha also took the opportunity to highlight how far the country has come in terms of gender equality since 1215 but how far there still is to go.

Applause rang out as she questioned how women can feel represented in parliament when only 29 per cent of all MPs are female.

In the main debates; working together to combat racism and religious discrimination, particularly against people who are Muslim and Jewish, was chosen as the issue for the national campaign for 2015 and mental health was chosen as the UK Youth Parliament’s priority campaign for England.

These motions were two of five debated by the UK Youth Parliament in the House of Commons chamber.

John Bercow, who presided over by the debates said: “Welcoming the Youth Parliament for their annual sitting has become one of the House of Common’s most pleasant traditions.

“Almost a million young people across the United Kingdom participated in this year’s vote, and I am pleased that they are taking advantage of the opportunity to make their voices heard in the heart of democracy in ever increasing numbers.”

A total of 279 Members of Youth Parliament aged 11-18 took part in the debates, the subjects were voted for by 969,992 young people across the UK in the annual UK Youth Parliament Make Your Mark ballot.

Alysha Bodman said: “Although I was apprehensive to be speaking in such a prestigious place, I managed to use these nerves to my advantage and deliver a passionate speech about gender equality.

“It is a topic that I believe is very important so I am very glad that I was able to highlight the unrepresentative parliament we have in terms of gender. Hopefully, we can work towards to a 50:50 parliament in the future."

Alysha is one of the three MYPs selected in elections run by the Youth Support Team, provided by Prospects on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council.

To find out more about Alysha’s work representing the Cotswolds and Stroud visit her Facebook or Twitter pages, search Alysha Bodman.