Ashington student Jack Brodie 'honoured' to address House of Commons

Jack Brodie, 17, was elected by pupils from schools across Northumberland to represent the county in the Youth Parliament.

The Ashington High School student joined a topical debate among his fellow MYPs on climate change as world leaders gathered in Egypt at COP27, to voice their own concerns over the issue.

He was invited to join the debate by the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who took the chair for the Youth Parliament session.

Jack, who is applying to go to university next year, told the House: “Climate change is an undeniable issue that every one of us can see in our day-to-day lives. Not to be extreme, our country and our world is literally burning.

“Last summer we had the hottest one on record and we have had forest and general fires across the country. The environment is a massive issue and is something that unites every single one of us here today.

“We cannot just say there are more important issues.

Climate change has been a consistent issue over however many years and we seriously must acknowledge that we need to do something about it.”

Afterwards, Jack said he felt privileged to have spoken at Westminster: “Being give the chance to speak in the House of Commons was an absolute honour. It is only just sinking in that I was able to join in a debate in the home of British democracy.”