SAT - Allover - Chris Morphet
Thursday 5 December 2024
 8.2°C   SSW Moderate Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Election / Smith and Summers elected as isles’ new MSYPs

Joe Smith (left) and Bertie Summers (right) after being elected. Photo: Dave Donaldson

SHETLAND has two new members of the Scottish Youth Parliament – Joe Smith and Bertie Summers.

Results of the election were announced at a ceremony at Islesburgh in Lerwick this afternoon (Monday).

More than 800 young people in Shetland voted in the election.

Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament, known as MSYPs, are aged between 14 and 25, and elected every two years with two MSYPs each for every Scottish Parliament constituency.

Three candidates were in the running this time around – Brandon Kennedy, Joe Smith and Bertie Summers – with the latter two being elected.

Both Smith, 15, and Summers, 17, said they were pleased to be elected and wanted to thank those who voted for them.

When asked what issues they were looking to push over the next couple of years, Summers mentioned the rising cost of living.

“I think that young people are being impacted the most of all by this crisis,” he said, adding there was also a “rural/urban disparity” due to the fact that unlike buses under 22s do not get free trips on inter-island ferries.

Smith added: “Travel is a big problem – even getting off Shetland itself is very expensive for young folk, [such as] in sport and competing down the road.”

Summers also said he stood for election because he “strongly believes that young people deserve a much larger and stronger voice”.

Smith added that he enjoys “speaking to folk and seeing how we can help them”.

The newly elected MSYPs will then undertake training to help them carry out their role and to decide on future campaigns.

They are replacing Michaela Christie and John Fraser, who were elected unopposed in November 2021.

This year’s elections were delayed due to a national issue with the voting website.

The Shetland results were announced by local returning officer Jan Riise, who said presiding over the youth elections was one of his greatest privileges.

Become a member of Shetland News

 

Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) youth and employability team leader Martin Summers added that the MSYP role was “really important for the whole community” and said it enabled young people’s voices to be heard by decision-makers.

The local MYSPs are also part of the SIC’s education and families committee.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.