Two appointed to represent isles in Scottish Youth Parliament

TWO candidates have been appointed unopposed to represent Shetland in the Scottish Youth Parliament until 2021.

Leighton Anderson, aged 16, from Dunrossness and fifteen-year-old Jonathan Dorrat from Lerwick will take up their roles from July this year, when the terms for the current MSYPs, Dylan Morrish and Sonny Thomason will be up.

Anderson and Dorrat were the only two candidates to put themselves forward to represent Shetland when nominations were sought and the end of 2018 and are therefore appointed unopposed.

It is first time that two MSYPs have been appointed to represent Shetland without an election since the Scottish Youth Parliament was established twenty years ago. National SYP elections will take place across the country next month.

SYP local election coordinator Martin Summers said the next few months would be used to “ensure a smooth transition”.

He added: “Although we do not have an election taking place in Shetland, we are confident that Shetland’s young people will be well served by Jonathan and Leighton.

“Both candidates have played an active role as Year of Young Peopleambassadors during 2018 and have a wide variety of strengths. During the next two years both of them have committed to continue the positive work of our outgoing MSYPs Dylan and Sonny.”

The Scottish Youth Parliament provides a national platform for young people to discuss and campaign on issues that are important to them.

The parliament was influential in helping secure votes for 16-year-olds in Scotland, and has campaigned for equal marriage through its Love Equally campaign. Its current campaign All Aboard focuses on improving public transport services for Scotland’s young people, calling for reduced fares, increased accessibility for disabled passengers, and higher bus standards.