“Your voice does matter" Meet the Luton teens representing the town in Youth Parliament

Ali Bayanoni, 16, and Yousuf Mohammed, 15, are part of Luton Youth Council - a group of 15 young people who represent the views of their peers, influence decision-making, and improve services for young people in their community.

The boys are the first to have been selected as part of the UK Youth Parliament after getting the most votes from their fellow youth councillors in September.

For Ali, a scout leader and avid football player, getting to voice his concerns about matters affecting young people is very important.

The Luton Sixth Form Student said: “I have always been interested in politics and I enjoy watching debates in the House of Commons. I am passionate about public speaking and engaging with different perspectives.”

The two-year position will expose the boys to different scenarios, people and points of view.

Yousuf, a keen reader and Denbigh High School student, says he “wants to make a change” through his work.

He explained: “Each person represents approximately 20,000 young individuals. So to me, it's a duty. If you're elected to do something, you have to speak for people, because not everyone's in the same situation, not everyone has such a position to be able to voice their opinions and their concerns.”

In the House of Commons, the teens voted and debated on behalf of their constituency for issues they wanted to campaign for - with period dignity becoming the main one, and votes for 16-year-olds as a devolved campaign.

When asked how it felt to step into the Palace of Westminster, Ali said: “It's been amazing. It felt surreal.”

Ali is hoping to use his platform to push for a change in the law.

He said: “I'm really passionate about lowering the voting age because it will empower young people in Luton and make them more interested in politics.”

The students will be in their positions until September 2026, and Yusuf has already made history by becoming the first South Asian person to represent the town as a youth parliamentarian.

The 15-year-old said: “It’s honestly a privilege, especially with the landscape shifting, and it's a good thing that I'm representing someone being a part of a minority.

“It's not tokenism, it's not optics, it's a true representation.”

When asked about how more teenagers can engage with politics without it feeling boring or too complicated.

Ali suggested: “It’s all to do with the way it is being communicated to young people. Students should be taught about it in school in a more accessible way.

“Help young people realise their vote matters. It'll empower them to feel like they can create real change.”

Yousuf said: "Politics is just an opinion. If politics continues to be done without us, it's going to continue to be against us.

“Your voice does matter, your vote does matter, and it's not that you're just not handing out your votes here and there. You're handing out your vote to who you want to.

“You can't just be voting as an extension of what your parents vote for. That's not what it really is about. It's about where you see yourself, what kind of category you fit into, and not labelling yourself as a certain person, a part of the spectrum or a part of a certain party. It's about what affects you.”

For Ali, meeting people from all over the country and debating subjects has been the best part of the experience so far. Yusuf said: “Meeting Sarah Owen, because I absolutely idolise her. She's very passionate about what she does, and it's good to have a local role model.”

Yousuf was blown away when he met Luton’s former mayor, Cllr Tahmina Saleem.

The councillor is also from Sheffield, like Yusuf. He explained: “It's this kind of an anomaly to have someone from Sheffield come to Luton and also come and make such a change in a political environment. You see these people, they're your local heroes, and it's astonishing, because you see so much talent around you.”

Ali, an avid football player and scout leader, has juggled his responsibilities alongside his A Levels, and similarly, Yusuf is completing his GCSEs while finding time to advocate for other young people.

The boys will start a Big Beds United campaign, with other Bedfordshire youth councils, to focus on stamping out period poverty.

Louise Underwood, the Youth Partnership Service’s youth voice and participation co-ordinator, leads on the project.

She said: “Young people are so often stigmatised and given negative labels, with our town itself highlighted on social media repeatedly as being undesirable. It is a privilege to work with such passionate young people from all walks of life as they strive to change these stereotypical views, creating donation drives for survivors of domestic abuse, challenging the stigma of mental health within different communities and chairing events alongside Bedfordshire Police around the exploitation of young people.

“Our Youth Councillors show great dedication, curiosity and determination in their own campaigns, local projects and through UK Youth Parliament, national initiatives. Their work shows that young people have the right to have a seat at the table in decisions made about their lives, their communities and their futures.

“I have no doubt that within our youth councillors both past and present, we have future councillors, mayors and who knows, a future MP of Luton.”