UK Youth Parliament: Get involved, says Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle

The "referee" of UK politics says "we haven't got a future if young people aren't involved".

Sir Lindsay Hoyle is Speaker of the House of Commons, and part of his job is to oversee debates and make sure MPs follow the rules.

He recently welcomed more than 200 young people at Westminster, where they had gathered for a special debate.

Despite some being put off by politics, he insists they can "make a change" if they get involved.

"I always say to young people, I want you to be the next generation of politicians," he said.

"I want you to take over, I want you to champion democracy."

Sir Lindsay watched over a debate of the UK Youth Parliament, involving dozens of 11 to 18-year-olds from around the country.

Each one is elected to put forward views from their area.

"If things matter to you, or things are bothering you, and you've got concerns, don't stand on the sidelines, say something," Sir Lindsay says.

"Get involved, make a change, you can be part of it.

"You can be that's next generation of prime ministers, you can be that next generation of future politicians.

"And that's said to everybody around the world, if young people aren't involved in politics, we haven't got a future."

In a first for UK Youth Parliament Day, young representatives from British Overseas Territories were also invited to share their experiences.

Climate change is "top of the agenda", Sir Lindsay says, and shows issues that matter to young people affect us all.

"It does matter. It matters for us. It matters for young people, it matters for their children as well. So what we've got to do is invest in the future," he says.

The poll, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Radio 1 and BBC Newsbeat, asked a representative sample of 2,719 British 16 to 24-year-olds about their attitudes towards the UK.

Of all those who responded, just 17% said they felt positive or very positive about the UK's political future.

Across the whole sample, 17% of the 16 to 24-year-olds polled agreed that political parties in the UK cared about young people.

And 12% said they trusted politicians to tell the truth.

Sir Lindsay was elected by MPs using a secret ballot system.

By tradition, the Speaker is above politics and is supposed to represent only the rules and conventions of Parliament.

So when he or she is elected, they stop representing their party.

He describes himself as the "referee" of the Commons: "I oversee debates, premises, questions. And that's my role."

But, he adds, "I've got a much greater role than that" - as he also looks after the maintenance of Parliament.

"I make sure everything goes evenly in the chamber," he said.

"But also, I'm kind of the chief executive of the Palace of Westminster, the House of Commons.

"We've got 3,000 staff to look after their health and wellbeing, as well as the repairs and maintenance of the building, negotiating with the trade unions - you know, working with everybody to try and to make this place safe.

"All that comes under my remit. It's a fantastic job - I'm very lucky."

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