UK Youth Parliament
Staffordshire
Meet Staffordshire's Members of Youth Parliament
Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) represent young people across their Local Authority area. Staffordshire elects four MYPs who will represent the county until 2026. Find out more about your representatives below.
What is UK Youth Parliament?
Formed in 2000, the UK Youth Parliament has been a platform for over 300 young people aged 11 to 18, who are elected as Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) to represent their peers’ views. It empowers young people to drive social change through meaningful representation and campaigning.
MYPs are elected every two years in elections that take place in more than 70% of constituencies, often within schools.
The National Youth Agency (NYA) is the national body responsible for the programme, which is supported by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the UK Youth Parliament connects young people with the policymaking and parliamentary process, giving them direct access to decision-makers.
Caitlyn Monks
Mental health; local park safety
Hello, my name is Caitlyn Monks, I am 17 and I became a Member of Youth Parliament because I am fuelled by a deep passion for creating positive change in our society. A third of young women and girls in UK can’t access free menstrual products. More than 30% have no access to free menstrual products at school or college, despite government schemes.
I am involved in a numerous number of projects. I have recently been appointed as a Youth Ambassador for Period Power, whereby I advocate for period equality during events, online or to start conversations to challenge the societal taboos.
I am also a member of the Disability and Neurodiversity Board. Accessibility and inclusivity are crucial, and I will endlessly advocate for a more accessible and just world.
As a student at Walton High School, I have taken part in creating the ‘Open Minds’ App. This is a Mental Health Directory App for young people in Staffordshire. This app not only allows you to see all of the local Mental Health Services that we have collated in the area, but you can use it to directly call, text or visit these services straight from the app.
My passion for making a difference is matched only by my commitment to honesty and integrity in all that I do. I will bring this passion and advocacy to the table. I will work tirelessly to make a meaningful impact as a Member of Youth Parliament.
Tom Craddock
Supporting youth groups; School funding; Youth engagement in politics
Hi, I’m Tom Craddock, a 16-year-old secondary school student from Cannock Chase. Last November, I was thrilled to be elected to represent my district in Staffordshire Youth Union, and I have now been elected to represent the whole county as a Member of Youth Parliament.
Currently, I am in my 3rd consecutive year as a Student Councillor within my School Council, representing my year group in council-wide meetings with the school’s leadership team. I am also a Lance Corporal in the 1st Cheslyn Hay Boys’ Brigade Company, leading activities based around science, technology and politics, and a keen volunteer, selling poppies to support the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal each November and tidying my local area with other members of the community. I am also a keen shooting athlete, setting a new record of a perfect 50/50 card in the recent Battalion Rifle Shooting competition.
My involvement in Staffordshire Youth Union and the UK Youth Parliament, is fuelled by a passion for politics and youth representation which I have held for many years. I believe that the views of us young people should not just be acknowledged, but valued and acted upon. We are the future of not just politics, but the whole of society, and decisions that are made now will impact our lives greatly in years to come. It is for that reason I chose to stand to become a MYP, and this will remain my focus throughout my two-year term.
I promise to act with honesty, integrity and dedication as I represent the views of all young people within Staffordshire in the UK Youth Parliament.
Emily Richards
Mental health awareness; Knife crime; Environmental issues
My name is Emily Richards and I am 17 years old. I currently go to Sixth Form in Lichfield, and I am studying physics, maths and economics. My current goal is to study at Oxford University, although I still haven’t decided on a course yet. I also love music, art, classical philosophy, astrophysics and everything politics!
The quote I live by is by Seneca : ‘Vivamus, Moriendum Est’, which means, roughly speaking, you should live every day to the fullest, something I wholeheartedly believe.
My recent election as an MYP came as quite a surprise for me, as I have not always been perfect – but I think that it is important for young people to have someone to not only look up to but also to relate to – perfection is impossible. Having struggled with my mental health in the past, I have come to the realisation that I am extremely passionate about this; spreading awareness and improving our current system to deal with such issues. Not enough young people have access to help or instead believe in the stereotype of asking for help as being a sign of weakness. Sometimes, the strongest thing for a person to do is to call upon such assistance.
As an MYP for Staffordshire, I strive to create a safer space for every young person who lives and visits here. I will ask for your help in order to find out what matters most to you and how you would like to see change. I will amplify everyone’s voices, including those who do not feel confident enough to speak against the system, and will address as much as I can when I have the opportunity to talk to those with power and authority in this country.
Oliver Bracebridge-Henderson
Minimum wage equality; Rural integration; Education
I’m Oliver, age 16 and proudly representing Cannock Chase. Since the age of 14 I’ve been working at my local pub and have slowly worked my way up to become a senior member of the team. My motto in life is that as long as I can make people smile then I’ve made the world a better place. Also, I am also extremely concerned with global conflicts to the extent that my dream is to end up working in the UN International Court of Justice.
I’ve been bought up believing that everyone should be viewed as equal despite their circumstances and to treat everyone with the same respect but I believe more can be done to improve everyone’s life. Furthermore, we are the children of the present and it’s us and our kids who will get impacted by the current government’s policies so young people deserve a say in what can improve and what shouldn’t be allowed which I am vastly privileged to have this opportunity to do. I am also going to allow myself this opportunity to meet with a variety of people because if you are ignorant to other’s perspective and pasts, you are ignorant to social problems. Lastly, there is no point in complaining about a problem until you have had an opportunity to change it, and I will use this opportunity to allow my concern of my community to be heard.