The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Youth parliament crisis as members walk out
At least seven have resigned calling for structural change
The Scottish Youth Parliament has been rocked by the resignation of at least seven of its members amid calls for structural change and amid claims of bullying, sexism and stifled debate, The Courier can reveal.
A number of budding politicians have walked out in recent weeks with several – including four with Tayside/Fife connections – claiming that the youthled rights-based organisation, funded with £421,285 of public cash per year, was not letting their members’ voices be heard.
Among those who have resigned are Kirkcaldy MSYP Kelly Given, 19, of Burntisland; Angus North and the Mearns member Robbie Nicoll, 18, of Laurencekirk; Dundee West member Marc Winsland, 20; and former Scottish Youth Parliament vice-chairman Ewan McCall, 18, of Kilmarnock, now a first year history and philosophy student at St Andrews University.
In an interview with The Courier yesterday, Mr McCall, who was first elected in 2013 and stood down from the SYP board in September, shared the view of all those resigning that the SYP was a “necessity” of public life.
Achievements, he said, included advocating votes for 16 and 17-year-olds during the Scottish independence campaign, equal marriage, the living wage, and more recently the current national campaign, Speak Your Mind, which is focused on young people’s mental health.
But Mr McCall said he resigned because he was sick of a culture where “views are trapped, debate stifled and opinions constricted by a web of policy to which we must conform or be disciplined”.
He also claimed there was a “toxic atmosphere” and “heavy tribalism” at board level where he insists there was “no accountability” for decisions.
Former Balwearie High School pupil Kelly Given, whose day job is parliamentary caseworker for Kirkcaldy SNP MSP David Torrance, was elected to the SYP in March last year.
She confirmed yesterday that she resigned from the youth parliament on Monday.
“It’s still an effective organisation,” she said, “but it needs internal reform.
“It seems to be very board-centric and doesn’t seem to represent the views of MSYPs.
“The tough disciplinary approach also needs to be reformed.”
Robbie Nicoll was first elected to Angus North and the Mearns in 2013 and again last year. But the Strathclyde University politics student resigned shortly after the AGM in July after alleging that there was “sexist behaviour” within the SYP.
Marc Winsland, 20, believes in the “power and the potential of the collective voice of Scotland’s young people”.
But he confirmed he had resigned as Dundee West MSYP after concluding that the organisation is a “deeply and unnecessarily flawed one”.
Views are trapped, debate stifled and opinions constricted. EWAN MCCALL