Eva elected as new Peterborough Youth MP

Eva (16) from Nene Park Academy topped the polls with 1,150 votes, putting her ahead of Tomiwa Alabi from The King’s School.

Eva will now represent the city in the UK Youth Parliament and continue to sit on the Peterborough Youth Council which campaigns on issues important to young people in the city.

The Peterborough Youth Council is run by Think Communities at Peterborough City Council. It plays a valuable role in informing priorities and championing the needs of the city’s young people and the services they access.

Eva was already a member of the youth council before the election and she will now replace outgoing Youth MP Elicia D’Ambrosio with her two year term beginning in March, while Tomiwa will be her deputy.

In total, there were nine candidates standing, with voting taking place across 10 Peterborough schools last week. Counting took place on Monday and Tuesday with young people volunteering as election count officers.

The results were announced at a ceremony at Peterborough City Council’s Sand Martin House offices on Wednesday morning.

Eva campaigned on issues including sexual harassment of young people, eating disorders and the removal of university tuition fees.

Following her victory, she said: “I’m really looking forward to moving past the tokenistic element of the ‘youth voice’. We don’t just want our voices heard, we want actions. Being in the room today, it felt really exciting because people were not just there to say well done, it felt like everyone there was looking forward to co-creating with the young community all together. That felt inspiring and empowering.

“We can’t vote, and for a lot of adults not necessarily involved in the democratic process, that means our voices can be maringalised as we can’t say who can represent us. But we’re starting to move past that and I’m so thrilled and honoured to be a part of that process.”

Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “I’d like to congratulate Eva on her victory and I look forward to speaking to her in her new role.

“It’s great to see so much enthusiasm among young people for politics, with nine candidates standing and thousands of votes being cast. It’s important we channel this enthusiasm so we can help make progress on the issues which matter to them the most.”

The nine candidates were: Lucy Loan-Shaw, Matthew Carr, Tomiwa Alabi, Rebecca Au, Kira Bianka Balogh, Eliza Greenwood, Miriam Sellick, Ufuoma Ehwerhemuepha and Eva Woods.