Make Your Mark youth ballot

What is Make Your Mark?

The Make Your Mark vote, which gives all young people aged 11-18 in the UK the chance to have a say on the biggest issues facing young people.  

For more information and to take part, visit Make Your Mark – UK Youth Parliament (byc.org.uk)

Young people will vote for one topic out of ten. The ballot happens each 2 years and there are various ways to take part and vote. If you want to find out more, please email makeyourmark@byc.org.uk

For example the topic that won in 2022 and the focus of the last 2 years was the cost of living crisis, which developed into a national campaign for free school meals.

Make Your Mark in Suffolk

Topics to vote for in 2024

The Make Your Mark 2024 ballot paper includes ten topics which have been selected by the UK Youth Parliament Steering Group, in consultation with their local MYPs.

• Education and Learning
• International Relations
• Health and Wellbeing
• Rights, Equalities, and Democracy
• Jobs, the Economy and Benefits
• Crime and Safety
• Culture, Media, Sport
• Climate Change and the Environment
• Transport
• Youth Work and Young People’s Services

Top voted in UK and Suffolk 2022 was Health and Wellbeing

This eventually evolved over 2 years into a Food For Learning campaign with the aim to get free school meals in schools.

1. Make Your Mark 2022 – 434,000 young people voted in the 2022 ballot, with Health and Wellbeing coming out as the top issue (Feb 2022)
2. Focus Groups led by Members of Youth Parliament – Members of Youth Parliament supported 2,800 young people nationwide to add depth and further understanding to the issue (July-Sept 2022)
3. House of Commons Sitting 2022 – Members of Youth Parliament voted to shortlist the 5 Health & Wellbeing subtopics for debate at the House of Commons Sitting. At the sitting, MYPs voted for the Health/Cost of Living subtopic to be the focus of the 2023 campaign (Oct-Nov 2022)
4. Social Action Group elected – Members of Youth Parliament elected a Social Action Group (formed of 1 MYP per region/nation) to co-design this campaign, with the support of our campaign partner Child Poverty Action Group. (Nov-Jan 2023)

Youth Parliament in Suffolk

Find out about the Youth Parliament in Suffolk and how you can get involved in having a voice, including the Suffolk Youth Forum.