Maidenhead & Windsor

Election fever is set to sweep the Maidenhead Royal Borough in the coming weeks as the local young electorate once again responds to the challenge to "stand up and be counted".

With just two weeks to go until nominations close for this year's Youth Parliament elections, young people are being urged to rise to the challenge of finding the Maidenhead borough's fourth Member of Youth Parliament (MYP).

The rallying call is going out this week to all 11-18-year-olds across the borough to choose one of their peers – or even nominate themselves - to represent their views in the national youth parliamentary arena.

First stop on the campaign trail for would-be young politicians is an information morning at Castle Hill Youth Centre in High Town Road, Maidenhead, on Thursday February 15 from 10 to 11am.

Maidenhead Youth workers will outline the roles and responsibilities of the MYP and answer any questions that arise. The young people will then have until the closing date of Monday February 19 to put forward their nominations, after which all nominees will write their own election manifestos which will be displayed on posters and leaflets and distributed to schools and youth clubs across the borough.

Voting will take place from Monday March 5 until Sunday March 11 at local schools, youth centres, the Connexions centre in Maidenhead and on the Royal Borough website at www.rbwm.gov.uk, with the winner announced a week later at a special presentation evening in the Town Hall.

Cllr Kathy Newbound, lead member for Maidenhead children and young people, said: "These elections are a great opportunity for the young people of our borough to make sure they have their voices heard at national level by helping to choose one of their peers to represent them.

"All of our previous MYPs have demonstrated huge commitment to the role and have worked hard to fulfil their challenging task. I have no doubt that there are a great many young people out there who could do an equally good job – and I would urge all young people to think very seriously about putting themselves forward for this prestigious role."

The newly-elected MYP will follow in the footsteps of Robert Weeks, Helen Flory and current MYP Natasha Lavender to represent the views of the Royal Borough's young people at the National Youth Parliament conferences.

He or she will also work closely with Maidenhead borough youth workers to set up local "satellite" youth forums around the borough to feed ideas and opinions into the borough youth forum to reflect the views of as many young people as possible.

During her 12 months as MYP, Windsor Girls' School pupil Natasha has taken on a high-profile role as the "face" of the borough's Youth Opportunities Fund assessors panel – which assesses applications and allocates funding for youth projects across the borough.

In addition she has attended local head teachers conferences, national Youth Parliament sessions and has undergone residential training with other MYPs.

For further details about the information session on Thursday February 15,and the role of the MYP, contact Danny Gomm, youth participation co-ordinator, on 01628 510289.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead