Chris Rogers The Politics Show South West

This could be the next step for these young politicians...

What were you doing when you were 13?

I betray no secrets in saying that for me, it was a very long time ago, but I think I was collecting cigarette cards, practising the violin badly, being average at tennis and rubbish at football.

I do know I was not interested in politics.

I didn't encounter anything resembling political activity until I went to university, when a succession of student sit-ins and marches all seemed a bit futile and frankly rather silly.

Well, it seems today's teenagers are made of sterner stuff.

They are better informed about the world around them, more clued-up about injustice and, thanks to the internet, much more likely to feel part of a community of shared ideas and shared action.

Youth Parliament

Three years ago, when Hamish McCallum from Illogan in Cornwall was 13, he was not collecting cigarette cards, but he was serving as one of three county members of the United Kingdom Youth Parliament.

Like its members, this is a young body, which began meeting in 2001, and consists of 300 MYPs (Members of the Youth Parliament) from across the UK.

They are all aged between 11 and 18, all elected by their fellow pupils, and they meet in a national congress once a year to discuss issues of mutual concern.

The idea has attracted the support of Westminster MPs and traditional politicians everywhere, not least because of the growing unease about the so-called "dis-engagement" of young people with the democratic system.

The UK Youth Parliament must offer a reassuring endorsement that all is not so bad with the political world after all.

A real voice

Nevertheless, let us be fair, it is not just a prop for a worried Westminster.

It is genuinely useful as a forum for today's increasingly pressurised teenagers to say what's wrong with the world we have made for them and to try to formulate plans to put things right.

Sceptical adults can also dismiss thoughts that all they are interested in is more pocket money and a skateboard park round every corner. The internet has made them much more savvy.

Issue orientated

Hamish is still only 16 but has seen the Youth Parliament contribute to the debate on affordable housing in the South West, probably the most all-consuming topic in Cornwall, the land of the second home.

He has friends and relatives who are all struggling to reach the first rung of the housing ladder.

As he says himself, in a couple of years' time it will be his turn to be looking for somewhere to live.

Why shouldn't tomorrow's hopeful homeowners, today's teenagers, be engaged in intelligent and informed debate in a democratically-elected forum about such a crucial issue, especially when their ideas and conclusions are said to be so important to those in Westminster who have the real power?

Elections imminent

The election process for next year's MYPs is just beginning, which is why 100 Cornish teenagers congregated at Newquay's Fistral beach for a fun day of information to see if they would like to stand for the Parliament.

Hamish was on hand to pass on his hard-won experience.

Hamish takes part in the Politics Show South West debate about young people and democracy that you can see this Sunday on BBC One.

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