Year 12 student, Blessing Hachem, has successfully been elected to represent Leeds at the UK Youth Parliament.
The UK Youth Parliament is a youth version of parliament and is a platform given to young people between the ages of 11 – 18 to represent their constituency at a local, regional, and national level. Elected Members of Youth Parliament (MYP) are also given the opportunity to work alongside politicians.
“I am so happy to have been selected for this opportunity and I still can’t quite believe that I have been elected! I feel really positive that I will be able to represent the views of young people and I can’t wait for my term to start.”
Blessing Hachem, year 12 student and MYP for Leeds.
Elections for the UK Youth Parliament take place every 2 years. To apply Blessing initially completed a written application which included submitting her campaign manifesto. Following a shortlisting process, 6 candidates were selected to stand for election and campaigning began. Blessing campaigned across Leeds for 4 weeks, visiting schools, youth clubs, churches and shopping centres and other areas where she could speak directly with constituents. She also ran a successful social media campaign across Instagram and Snapchat.
Blessing moved from Italy to the UK in 2017. Her Ghanian born parents decided to move to the UK to provide better opportunities for Blessing and her siblings. Whilst studying for her GCSEs at Leeds City Academy she developed a passion for politics. She got involved in the school student parliament and took part in a culture coach programme mentoring younger pupils in her school. Outside of school she joined a political party and was appointed youth regional representative for the party.
Currently studying A Level Politics alongside Law and Sociology Blessing is extremely positive about her time so far at Elliott Hudson College. Alongside her academic studies she has really enjoyed taking part in enrichment activities such as EHC Voice Podcast and Get Politically Active. Both activities have continued to strengthen her participation in open debate and discussion. After college she hopes to study Politics, Philosophy and Ethics or International Studies.
Blessing will officially begin her term on 10 March. She will be focussed on ensuring the voices of young people are heard and listen to as well as ensuring she fulfils her manifesto pledge.
“My manifesto is to bring more career and work experience opportunities for young people before they embark on their chosen path. I believe that having a practical understanding of your career and knowing how it works, allows you to thrive and succeed academically as well. In creating more opportunities, I hope this will give young people an opportunity to have a greater understanding of career options open to them and to discover if their chosen path is the correct one for them before taking things further.”
Blessing Hachem, year 12 student and MYP for Leeds.
Part of her role will require Blessing to work closely with councillors and MPs which will sometimes require trips to the House of Commons, which she is extremely excited about.
“Blessing has put a huge amount of effort into her campaign, and I know that she is going to be an articulate, thoughtful and compassionate member of the UK Youth parliament. I really hope this this is a stepping stone for her into a future political career.”
Mr Cave, Subject Leader and Teacher of Politics.
Looking to the future Blessing has big aspirations to be an MP. She wants to be a great politician for the people and ultimately work towards becoming the UK’s first female black prime minister. We wish her all the success in achieving her dream and can’t wait to see what the next 2 years of her term in office bring.