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Pledge “bycGEC”

"I will pledge my support to the British Youth Council’s General Election Manifesto campaign but only if 1,000 other young people, MPs and parliamentary candidates will do the same."

— Alex Delaney, Chair, British Youth Council (contact)

Deadline to sign up by: 6^th May 2010
719 people signed up, 281 more were needed

Country: United Kingdom

More details
The British Youth Council (BYC) General Election Manifesto calls on Parliament to:

• Lower the voting age to 16
• Support a national youth transport card that offers young people a third off public transport fares
• Create an equal national minimum wage for everyone over 16
• End child poverty in the UK by 2020
• Invest in comprehensive mental health services for young people

It's our Parliament too. We want our vision to inform and influence what it does.

Pledge your support here today to follow and take part in BYC campaign activities on the General Election Manifesto. Let's all work with young people and parliamentary candidates in our local area to have a debate on the Manifesto and get young people's voices heard.

Fulfil your pledge by:

• Using our campaign resources - including briefings on how to meet with your PPC about the campaign and hold a youth panel debate - available online at www.byc.org.uk/gec
• Joining us on Facebook: Search for British Youth Council or join BYC's Online Action Network
• Following us on Twitter: bycLIVE
• Asking your friends to pledge too at www.pledgebank.com/bycGEC

Comments on this pledge

• i personally am in favour with most of the items on the manifestom especially mental health i belive that this is a really important issue that needs more attention, i a really pleased to see it on the agenda!
  Katey, 6 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• A fantastic manifesto with some very important actions. Good Luck.
  Emma Langbridge, The Prince's Trust, 6 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I fully support all five of your manifesto commitments. If elected I promise that I will actively promote them in parliament and in the wider community.
  I am an active supporter of youth councils, and attend them whenever I can.
  Peter Smith, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am delighted to support this pledge - and proud that everything apart from transport (which we will continue to work on) is existing Lib Dem policy!
  
  Very best of luck with the campaign
  
  Linda
  Linda Jack PPC for Mid Beds, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• A reasonable and wise set of demands, something I'm sure all Green Party Candidates will support.
  Nick Foster PPC Kingswood, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• All to often young people are seen as a problem to be solved, rather than equal citizens in our society. I am particularly pleased, therefore, to give the Green Party's support to lowering the voting age to 16 so that young people have a better opportunity to make their voice heard. The Greens believe fair is worth fighting for and I also support the pledges on transport, an equal national minimum wage, mental health services and ending poverty.
  Caroline Lucas MEP, Green Party Leader and parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion.
  Caroline Lucas, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am very upset by your proposals which I do not think will benefit young people. Votes at 16 is a bad idea, have you met 16 year olds? Most of them are far too immature to vote sensibly and I fear it will aid the BNP whose racist views go down well with immature people.
  Josh Finestone, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I would support this otherwise awesome pledge, if it wasn't for the lowering of the voting age. As much as I'd love to be optimistic enough to support this, I just don't think that most 16 year olds (being one myself) have had enough unbiased political exposure to make a decision based on what they believe in.
  Helen, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• The BYC manifesto is really important - not just lowering the voting age to 16 - but the other stuff too that can sometimes get overlooked, like provision of better mental health services.
  
  Keith Angus
  Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate
  Hackney North and Stoke Newington
  Keith Angus, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Young people have not had a fair deal. They have been brought into a world in the middle of a fight against depletion of resources, climate change, poverty, injustices, corrupt companies and so much more. At least give them the right to have a way in how to improve things.
  Nicola Wareing, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am delighted to add my support to the BYC Manifesto. I am the Lib Dem PPC for Wakefield. From 1980 to 1982 I was the Vice Chair of the BYC and also a youth member of the Parliamentary Youth Affairs Lobby, a sort of early version of the Youth Parliament. Unfortunately in 2010 its still quite a challenge to make sure young people's voices are heard and acted on in the corridors of power. I am proud that Alan Hemsworth our PPC for neighbouring Hemsworth is one of the youngest PPCs in the country! Good luck in your campaigning.
  David Smith, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Time to give all young people a fair chance, get them empowered and tackle the stereotypes of young people.
  
  Good luck.
  Adam Symons - Prospective MP for Torridge & West Devon, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I support the manifesto from the British Youth Council.
  Gordon Ross - Green Party candidate for Croydon South, 5 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Great to see BYC working so hard for young people and still pushing for the voting age to be lowered to 16. Young people are left by the wayside when it comes to election time because they do not have the right to vote. Lowering the voting age to 16 will go a long way in addressing this.
  Krupesh Hirani, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am supporting the BYC manifesto purely the fact becasue all five of the poibts are good but mainly rfor the mental health one as a person on the recivieng end of them i feel they need to be improved and the others sound great. the manifesto is a brillaint one and the transport one sounds fab.
  Stephanie Jane Lee, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Voting at 16 is a beneficial thing to this society especially now when politicians have enhanced their media personalities to get across their individual messages to the young people via, for example, tonight's First Election Debate. Of course there'd be groups of youngsters where maturity is not yet reached but surely, we can conclude the same for over 18s. Age does not actually matter but what allows exposure to knowledge about politics is mainly to do with the socio-economic class system.
  Shirley Ly, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Voting at age 16 is a great idea. I am aged 17 myself and i think this pledge will benefit society in many ways getting a more democratic united kingdom. Also on the front of a equal minimum wage for over 16s that's a great idea why should people aged 18- be exploited. I put my full support 110% towards this pledge.
  Thomas Edward Fallows, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Keep up the good work for our young people of today. I am in total support of votes for 16 year olds. They are our future. Its time we stopped dehumanising our young people and recognise them as positive contributors to our society.
  Diane, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Young people of 16 and 17 are much more mature than I was at that age. They have the right to go out to work and to pay taxes, so it is only right that they have a say in who should put those taxes to use in Government.
  
  Ending child poverty has been a major priority of the Labour Government and I fully support this target.
  
  Mental health at all ages is of paramount importance, the earlier we act to ensure good mental health the better.
  Robert Hull, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Dear Abimbola Joel Odumosu,
  Thank you for contacting me. I support the aims of the British Youth Council. It is important that the voting age is lowered to 16 as soon as possible. The changes that will be required for a sustainable world need the involvement of those who will be affected most.
  Best wishes
  Jacqui Morrish
  Green Party Candidate Ludlow
  Jacqueline Mary Morrish, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• The BYC does good work. Lib dems are supportive of the voting age being reduced to 16. At 16 you can pay tax, get married, have children, join the army but not have a say in how our country is run.... In attending school hustings in Stockton South Ive been impressed by the quality of debate coming from young people.
  
  Lib Dems also want to have a minimum wage that is the same for all.
  
  Lib dems want to end child poverty in the UK.
  
  As a social worker Ive been concerned by the patchy mental health support for young people and I would want to push for more equal services.
  
  Jacquie bell
  Lib Dem Candidate
  Stockton South
  Jacquie Bell, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Very happy to support your campaign. I have already been to a couple of local schools to chat with their politics societies, and later this week will be going to a schools hustings event. So far I have found it very refreshing to chat with youngsters about politics.
  
  My own children were all involved with our local youth council at various times and when I was a borough councillor I tried to attend their meetings whenever possible to show that the 'proper' council was supporting them.
  
  Those who think that young people between 16 and 18 should not be able to vote have obviously never sat down in a room with them and listened to them!
  
  Andrew Skudder
  Labour party candidate for Horsham
  Andrew Skudder, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I support all the items with the exception of "Support a national youth transport card that offers young people a third off public transport fares". Why not simply a third off public transport fares for all young people? Any card of this type is just a small step towards a national youth ID card. Also who will pay for the administrative cost - this is likely to be passed on to the users, further disdvantaging those who most need it.
  Richard Davis, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• As PPC for the Green Party in Sheffield Central I am happy to sign these pledges.
  Jillian Creasy, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• As Green Party Candidate for Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner I am pleased to support this pledge.
  Graham J Lee, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Young people should be equal citizens in society. Green Party policy is to lower the voting age to 16. What the pledge says on transport, an equal national minimum wage, mental health services and ending poverty also makes a great deal of sense.
  
  Glenn Vowles, Green Candidate for Bristol East
  Glenn Vowles, Green Party Candidate for Bristol East, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• V Happy to add my name to support the campaign, all of which is Lib Dem policy apart from the travelcard, though that is something very much worth exploring as a future policy and be interested to look into in more detail...
  
  Best wishes and good luck
  
  Steve
  Lib Dem Candidate for Eltham
  Dr Steven Toole - Lib Dem Candidate for Eltham, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am very happy to pledge my support for your manifesto. Unfortunately the economic climate means the transport card is a spending commitment we can not make at the moment however I support the idea and would like to see us move further than this in the future.
  Stuart Bodsworth
  Liberal Democrats for Stockport
  Stuart Bodsworth, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I am totally in support of this pledge: 16 and 17 year olds must be treated as equal citizens.
  Chris Tucker, 4 months ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Pledge your property and your persons towards a good cause. Find out how to save money when you buy online through comparison sites like http://www.superstoresearch.com/ and from the money you save, pledge a percentage of that towards noble and charitable causes.
  Robert, 3 months ago. Abusive? Report it!