Derby Youth Mayor Hustings

Published: 7 December 2021

Youth Mayor Candidates

On Monday 6 December the first Derby Youth Mayor Hustings since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic took place at the Museum of Making. The evening was hosted by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Alan Grimadell, with Councillor Evonne Williams, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills, as guest speaker.

14 students from schools across the city each gave extremely interesting and passionate three-minute speeches, giving the top three reasons they would want to be Youth Mayor. All of the speakers did a great job and can be very proud of themselves.

Around 60 students from the Council’s Voices in Action Youth Council (ViA) then voted for their top four candidates to go through to the next stage of the Youth Mayor elections next year.

Students had a real experience in voting processes and those turning 16 will be able to register to vote on the electoral register by completing the on-line registration form on the register to vote website.

The four students going through to the final stage of the ballot are:

Omar Aslam, Littleover Community School
Hannah Mitchell, Allestree Woodlands
Muhammad Muntasir, Noel Baker Academy
Gloria Osei Bonsu, Derby Moor Academy

You can watch the four speeches on our YouTube channel by clicking the names above and students in all secondary schools will be able to vote for their Youth Mayor and Deputy Youth Mayor in a final election in mid-January 2022.

Councillor Evonne Williams, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills said:

It’s really fantastic to be back at a Youth Mayor hustings event again. The passion and eloquence they speak with added to the quality and intelligence of their positions is amazing.

I always leave Voices in Action with new ideas and much food for thought about our policies and about how we can use them to help the new generation.

There were many recurring themes this evening about climate change, mental health and opportunities for young people that we all need to take seriously an engage with.

Well done to all the young people who spoke this evening and congratulations to those making it through to the next stage. I’d also like to thank the Museum of Making for hosting us in such a wonderful space.