Local MP Maria Miller met up recently with Zoni Asaf, the Member of the UK Youth Parliament for Basingstoke, Winchester and Eastleigh. Zoni, formerly a student at Aldworth Science College, was elected to the Youth Parliament in May 2013 for a two year term.

Zoni outlined to Maria the areas she will be focussing on, including ensuring that young people’s views are taken fully into account on matters that affect them, challenging the negative stereotyping of young people, and issues relating to access to transport, and concerns about drugs and alcohol.

Maria said: “I was delighted to meet Zoni and talk about a number of issues that are important to young people in Basingstoke. I will look forward to hearing how her campaigns progress during her time in office.”

Maria added: “We agreed on the importance of getting more young people and especially women involved in politics, at both the local and national levels. We also discussed some current issues of national and international concern, including the abhorrent use of chemical weapons in Syria.”

The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) allows young people aged 11 to 18 to have a say on national issues that affect them. It is made up of about 400 Members of the Youth Parliament (MYPs), each representing around 10,000 young people from their local area.