Huge congratulations are extended to Pelumi who has been elected as a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. We spoke to Pelumi about what she hopes to achieve in her exciting new role.
What motivated you to run for a position in the Scottish Youth Parliament?
I am hoping to pursue a political career at some point in my life and I thought running to be a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament would give me the perfect opportunity to experience what that would be like and confirm to me if this is something I actually want to do professionally, which it has already. I enjoyed being creative with my campaign and I am intrigued by the work the Scottish Youth parliament does in Scotland, Westminster and the UN.
What issues or causes are you most passionate about, and how do you hope to address them during your term?
I am passionate about improving public transport since many young people use it as their way of getting around and I think it’s important to keep this up to discourage the use of private cars which are harmful to our environment if they aren’t powered by electric or other clean sources e.g. hydrogen. The free bus passes have been very useful for youths across Scotland but not everyone has a bus that reaches where they live and I would like to be part of the people who help introduce free train passes. This can help a wider range of youth especially those who live in far out suburbs or rural areas where buses don’t always reach.
How do you plan to engage with young people in your constituency to ensure their voices are heard in the Scottish Youth Parliament?
I have a social media page and an official Scottish Youth Parliament email where youths can contact me about their issues and concerns. If youths in my constituency want to meet me face to face, surgeries will be arranged for this to happen.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing young people in Scotland today, and how do you propose to tackle them?
With all the recent happenings like Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Zero Covid Policy in China, the UK economy has been hugely impacted by them and has all contributed to making life more expensive for us hence the cost of living crisis. Many youths in school and university are struggling to keep up with costs and a lot of young people’s mental health has been affected by this, especially having to deal with attending classes and exams at the same time. It is predicted that our standard of living isn’t going to improve as all these effects will be heavy on our generation. However, I am passionate about what we can do to reduce this impact and will be part of groups that aim to help all this locally and nationally. I also believe holding more youth empowerment conferences or introducing youth innovation hubs could help increase motivation amongst youth and encourage them to work hard which would benefit our economy in the long run.
How do you envision the Scottish Youth Parliament contributing to the overall political landscape and decision-making processes in Scotland?
Not many youths know what the Scottish Youth Parliament is and I believe making young people more aware about it and letting them know their voices can be heard through their MSYPs will encourage them to contribute to more political decisions in Scotland, especially if they see things they have suggested are being discussed or worked on. I believe this will help the transition of youths voting in local and general elections in Scotland when they become of eligible age, which I think is very important because young people tend to have lowest voter turnout in elections even though they are the future and the effects of it are likely to hit them the most.