Lesson video

Welcome to today's Citizenship lesson.

My name is Ms. Wyatt, and I'm so glad that you could be here with me.

Welcome to today's lesson on How Can We Engage in Local Democracy? from the unit, How Can Young People Play An Active Role in Democracy? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain what local democracy involves and how youth councils help local democracy.

Our key words that we will be using throughout today's lesson are local democracy and youth council.

Local democracy is a system of government in which citizens vote in regular fair elections for representatives in their geographical area.

Youth council is a group set up, led and shaped by young people to represent the views and interests of other young people in a democratic way.

These keywords may be new to you today, but please don't worry as we will be using them throughout.

Our lesson on How Can We Engage in Local Democracy is broken up into two parts today.

The first part, exploring what is local democracy, and then looking at how do youth councils help local democracy.

When you're ready, let's begin.

The United Kingdom is a democracy.

Democracy is broken up into two parts.

So demo comes from the Greek word demos, which means the people, and cracy comes from the Greek word kratia, which means power, or to rule.

So altogether means rule by the people.

So like I've said, it is thought to mean rule of the people.

In addition to central democracy, the UK also has local democracy throughout local government.

They do not make laws, but manage services and make policies about things that affect everyday life for the people living in that area.

Most local governments in the UK are called Councils, for example, Newport City Council, Highland Council, Derry City and Strabane District Council, and Norfolk County Council.

There's lots of different councils within the UK.

Local democracy takes place as part of local government.

There is also national and regional governments across all nations of the United Kingdom, so England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Local government can make what changes? Read the following options and pick which local government can make changes to.

Hopefully we've said local government can make changes to public services.

It's not necessarily about national laws or parliament or the voting system as this would be referring to the central government.

Well done if we got this right.

Local democracy is about decisions made in your local area and how you can influence them.

The power to make decisions at a local or regional level in our villages, towns and cities and counties usually rest with local councils or elected mayors.

They make important decisions about local services, like rubbish and recycling collections, roads, and often facilities like swimming pools, museums, and leisure centres.

Leaders to the local government are called councillors, like members of parliament, MPs, in central government, they are elected into their roles by people living in the area.

It's their job to represent the people and their views.

councillors are supported by lots of council officers who have specialist knowledge of the departments they work in.

This is similar to the way civil servants support the work of ministers in central government.

There are many councillors within a council.

Every council district is divided up into smaller geographical areas each with their own councillors.

Now these smaller areas are called wards.

There is often more than one councillor per ward.

As well as working directly with residents, they also work for the people living within their wards by representing them in full council matters.

This is how local democracy works.

People in the local area vote to elect their local councillors to represent them on the local council.

So let's have a go at filling in the gaps with the words below.

Now, I will let you into a little hint.

You may not need to use all of the words that are available in the boxes.

When you are ready, pause the video and have a go at this task.

Okay, let's go through our answers together.

So there are many councillors within a council.

Every council district is divided up into smaller geographical areas, each with their own councillor.

These smaller areas are called wards.

People in their local area vote to elect their local councillors to represent them on the local council.

So well done if we got them all correct in the right gaps.

And we didn't need to use the word represent.

Local elections took place in May, 2025, which had very different results from the previous election.

The results and changes to them were as follows.

So this table is showing you the party and the amount of councils they increased on or decreased on.

So we can see Reform UK, they had 677 councillors, the largest one.

We can see Labour had 98 councillors, but lost 187.

We can see Conservative had 319, but they lost 674.

Then we have Independent, Green, and Liberal Democrat there as well, which you can see the results of.

This graph here is showing you that Reform UK increased, so did Liberal Democrat, and so did the Green Party, but Conservative, Labour and Independent Party all decreased.

So true or false, the Labour Party lost the most councillors in the May, 2025 local elections.

Is that a true statement or is it false? Hopefully we've said it's false.

It's false because the Labour Party lost 187 councillors, but the Conservative Party lost 674.

So the most successful party in May, 2025 local elections was Reform UK with 677 councillors.

Well done if you got that right.

Local democracy is not just present in communities during election time.

Although only people aged 18 and over can vote in most local elections, young people can still play a part by contacting councillors or going to local meetings.

Local democracy also includes things like consultations where councils ask their public for their opinions before making changes.

For example, in 2020, the Children and Young People's Committee of Brighton and Hove City Council decided that a review of current youth services in the city would be undertaken.

The findings of this review would be presented back to the committee to be discussed and a proposal agreed.

Brighton and Hove City Council practise local democracy by running a consultation asking young people about changes to youth centres.

This helped the council make decisions that better matched young people's needs, proving how important youth voices are in local democracy.

Another example of local democracy was in 2022 when Leeds City Council consulted over 14,000 local children about what they thought would make Leeds a child-friendly city.

In their Best Council Plan, Parks and Green Spaces Strategy 2022-2032, they have used this information to develop strategies to develop green spaces where children and young people spend time and play, are free of litter and dog fouling.

Children and young people have been able to express their views, feel heard, and are actively involved in decisions that affect their lives.

This shows how local democracy is something young people can be part of every day.

Jun says, "Perhaps we should contact the local council about our parks because they're full of litter and the bins rarely get collected." Sam says, "Yes, that's a good idea, Jun, perhaps we should start a campaign first and get some evidence." Lucas says, "We could survey people like Leeds City Council did and ask for their views on the park." Izzy says, "This would be a great example of local democracy in action.

All young people have the right for their voices to be heard." So let's study this image.

Do you think this is the best image to represent a local democracy? Can you explain your answer as well? What have we said about this image then? Is it the best? It's not.

It's not the most appropriate image because, although voting for local councillors is part of local democracy, it's not the only part.

Local democracy also involves going to local meetings, completing surveys, meeting councillors, and taking part in public consultations.

I think the image should include voting, but also other parts of local democracy.

It's a very narrow image, isn't it, to represent how big of a scale local democracy can be.

For this task, we need you to write two paragraphs that explain local democracy.

In your paragraphs, you need to include a clear definition in your own words why local democracy is important for your community, and at least two ways young people can get involved.

So when you are ready, pause the video and have a go at this task.

Okay, so your paragraphs about local democracy might include some of the same points that we've put in.

So local democracy means people in a community helping to shape decisions that affect their everyday lives.

It allows people to speak up about local issues and can influence what happens in their area.

Young people might not vote yet, but they can still be active.

For example, they could start a campaign about unsafe roads near their school or meet with a local councillor to share concerns.

Councils often ask for public opinions through consultations, and young people can take part in these too.

Local democracy matters because it gives everyone, including young people, the chance to be heard and make lasting change happen.

So hopefully we've given a clear definition of what local democracy is and have been able to give reasons why it's important in your community.

We have now looked at what local democracy is, and we're now going to explore how do youth councils help local democracy.

There are many different ways that young people can get involved in local democracy, and these includes arranging a meeting with local councillors about a local issue of concern, organising a petition, run a march or demonstration, organise a boycott, write a letter or email to your local councillor, and use a variety of campaign methods to make change at local level.

Young people can participate in local democracy through joining a youth council.

Youth councils are democratic groups set up and led by young people.

They're designed to give young people the same decisions that affect them locally.

Youth councils regularly meet to discuss issues, such as education, transport, safety, and the environment.

In 2023, the Milton Keynes Youth Council, or MKYC, underwent a significant transformation to improve youth participation in local democracy.

The council introduced a structured representation of system, including the election of a youth mayor and deputy youth mayor.

These roles were designed to mirror the city's governance structure, providing young people with direct ways to influence policy and decision-making processes.

The MKYC members were elected through school-based elections, ensuring broad representation across the city's youth population.

Once selected, youth councillors engaged in various activities, such as attending council meetings, participating in committees, and leading campaigns on issues concerning young residents.

This restructured approach aimed to bridge the gap between young people and local authorities, demonstrating a more inclusive and responsive local democracy.

So let's list four methods that Milton Keen's Youth Council used to improve local democracy.

So can we remember the four methods that they used? Hopefully we have said, positions were voted for through school-based elections, they attended council meetings, they participated in committees and led campaigns on issues affecting young people.

So these were some of the methods that Milton Keynes Youth Council used to improve local democracy.

Well done if we said those.

By giving young people experience in debating, voting and leadership, youth councils helped develop lifelong democratic habits and skills.

For example, the Haringey Youth Council runs annual youth elections where thousands of young people vote for youth councillors.

This teaches them how elections work and why participation matters.

In 2023, over 5,000 young people voted in the Haringey elections helping to elect youth representatives who went on to campaign for safer streets around schools.

It proves that involving young people early encourages them to stay active in local democracy as adults.

Haringey's Youth Council participation in local democracies also shown through their involvement in the borough, hosting events like Haringey Youth Festival.

This took place in 2023 and brought together young people from local organisations from workshops and performances.

Additionally, the Elevated Youth Council provides a platform for young people to participate in local governance and decision making processes, as well as meeting with council leaders.

Sophia says, "Youth council sound really exciting and a great way to practise local democracy.

Perhaps we should find one in our local area, Alex." Alex says, "I think the youth festival is a great way to see local performances and learn new skills in workshops run by local people." So let's match the start of the sentence with its ending.

So we have three options here, and we need to match them to the ending, which is on the right-hand side.

Pause the video and have a go at this task.

Okay, let's go through our answers.

So the first one, we should have matched to B.

So we should have said, Haringey Youth Council runs annual elections to choose youth councillors.

Then we had number two, youth representatives matches to campaigns for safer streets in 2003.

Which leaves us with, Haringey Youth Festival showcases local workshops and performances.

So well done if we matched the start of the sentence correctly to its ending, Youth councils often run campaigns that promote change for a more cohesive local community.

For example, Kent Youth County Council members campaign on the top three issues identified by young people during the election process.

These campaigns have addressed topics such as mental health, public transport, and tackling poverty.

Members meet monthly to work on these campaigns and engage with decision makers to influence policies affecting young people in Kent.

Youth councils are not just always concerned with local areas, but are working for a particular issue locally, nationally, and globally through local democracy.

For example, C40 are encouraging local areas to elect members for the Youth Climate Council.

Now, C40 is a global network of nearly 100 mayors of the world's leading cities that have united to tackle the climate crisis.

C40 have produced a toolkit that aims to guide young people in creating the climate councils to help develop and shape climate action in their communities.

C40's mission and toolkit demonstrates the need for young people to get involved in local democracy to make a difference across the whole world.

Andeep, Jun and Sofia say, "At the Oak Academy, we learn how to participate in local democracy in Citizenship lessons.

It makes us want to make a difference and be active citizens." So maybe this is something that they could look into of the C40's mission.

Young people can also become youth councillors.

A youth councillor in the UK is a young person, usually aged between 11 and 18, who is elected to represent the views of younger people in their local area, school or region.

Youth councillors act as a voice for young people helping to influence decisions made by local government, schools and national organisations.

Jacob says, "I'm a youth councillor.

We all work together to campaign on different issues and help to give young people a say in how the country is run." The Scottish Youth Parliament, or SYP, encourages young people to campaign for issues that matters to them in their local communities.

In the 2023-2025 session, young people voted to campaign for investment in and protection of youth work services.

SYP members wanted consistent funding across local authorities, more accessible and inclusive spaces, better frameworks for councils to follow.

The SYP campaign used many democratic methods, including giving a speech on the power of youth work to the first minister in the cabinet, members met with the decision makers to demonstrate and discuss the importance of youth work to encourage an increase in funding.

They produced a report called "Youth Work and Me" to highlight the importance of youth work in bringing communities together, and they hosted a roundtable event to discuss what action needs to be taken.

So they used lots of different democratic methods.

So let's complete the table about one of the most recent campaigns from the Scottish Youth Parliament.

So the campaign was to investment in and protection of youth work services.

So tell me what the campaign was about and what methods did they use.

Okay.

So the campaign was about young people wanting consistent funding across local authorities.

They wanted more accessible and inclusive spaces, and they wanted better frameworks for councils to follow.

The methods that they used were speeches, meeting with decision makers, they produced a report for evidence, and hosted a roundtable event to get views.

Well done if you remembered what the campaign was about and what methods they used.

For this task, we need to write a diary entry from the point of view of a youth councillor after their very first day in the role.

You must include what issue they hope to tackle, how they feel about representing young people, why they think youth councils are important, and how youth councils can help local democracy.

So when you are ready, pause the video and have a go at writing this diary entry.

Okay, your diary entry might look something like as ours, so I'm gonna read it to us.

"What a brilliant first day.

I had my first property youth council meeting today, and honestly, I left feeling excited and proud.

There's something powerful about being in a room full of young people who genuinely want to change things for the better.

We even had a visit from two councillors, from the local authority who took notes as we spoke, and they actually listened.

The issue I'm most passionate about tackling is transport, it's such a big problem where I live.

So many young people can't afford bus fairs to school or college and some miss out on after-school activities or part-time jobs.

I want to campaign for free or discounted travel for under 18s.

That would make a difference to so many lives.

It's such a big responsibility to represent other people, but it feels right.

Youth councils exist so that young people can take part in decisions that affect their lives, and I'm proud to be a part of that.

Too often, adults make decisions for us without asking us what we actually think.

That's why having a youth council really matters.

It leads to better decisions because we've been consulted.

Being part of this also shows that democracy works.

You don't have to wait until you're 18 to make a difference.

Youth councils help us develop good habits for life, like listening to others, debating, voting, and standing for positions of responsibility.

It's already shown me that speaking up is worth it.

Standing for youth council has given me the confidence to use my voice.

I was elected by my peers, and now I have the chance to make sure their voices are heard too.

That is real local democracy.

We might not have the power to pass laws, but we can definitely influence what happens in our communities.

I can already tell this will be one of the most important experiences of my life.

A proud and determined youth councillor." So maybe your diary entry looks very similar to ours, and it also might look a little bit different as well, but well done on your efforts with this.

I think one important thing to take away from this task is that this is real local democracy.

Yes, you can't necessarily pass laws, but it's definitely instilling some good habits, and you are definitely having an influence of what is happening in your local community.

We have now come to the end of our lesson on how can we engage in local democracy, and I'm gonna summarise it into a few points for us.

So, local democracy is the way people help make decisions about their local area, including services like schools, transport and parks.

Young people can get involved in local democracy through campaigning, meeting with councillors, or taking part in consultations.

Youth councils are run by young people for young people, giving them a voice in local decision making.

Being involved in a youth council helps young people learn about democracy, take responsibility, learn new skills, and build confidence.

When young people are consulted, it leads to more informed and relevant decisions that benefit the whole community.

Thank you for your efforts in today's lesson.

I really hope you've taken a lot from today and have enjoyed as well.

I hope to see you in the next one.

Bye-bye.