CALLUM Coles, the Stroud and Cotswold Member of the Youth Parliament (MYP), recently attended the UK’s annual Youth Parliament Sitting in Lancaster to debate current issues.
One motion Callum spoke against was “increasing the punishment for bullying”.
He argued that to punish an individual was itself a form of bullying, saying the problem would become circular.
Callum insisted it was better to educate people about the consequences of bullying and help them to reform, rather than to simply punish perpetrators and expect the problem to go away.
The Rt Hon John Bercow MP, speaker of the House of Commons, praised the MYPs for the work they do and later met Callum and congratulated him on his speech.
Callum would like to thank Steve Miles from Stroud District Council who supported his attendance at the meeting.
The UK Youth Parliament has more than 600 representatives who are usually elected in annual youth elections throughout the UK.
Any young person aged 11 to 18 can stand or vote.
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