Top youth campaigner in the spotlight

A young person from Brighton who is fast making a name for himself as one of the country’s top campaigners on issues affecting young people has been invited to address the council’s children and young people committee on Monday November 17.

Thomas Soud, 17, is a member of Brighton & Hove’s Youth Council, and is also the city’s representative on the UK Youth Parliament.

He has led a project that has seen local participation in the UK Youth Parliament’s national Mark Your Mark campaign nearly double from just over 11% of young people last year to more than 21% this year. It’s a success that has won Thomas a UKYP national award for increasing participation.

It has also led to him being asked to open a national debate in the House of Commons on Friday November 14 on English and maths exam resits.

The chair of the council’s children and young people committee, Councillor Sue Shanks, said: “Thomas Soud’s work in getting more local young people to participate in issues that affect them really is a remarkable success story. We’re looking forward to finding out more about how he has achieved this.”