Second RGS student standing for UK Youth Parliament

A SECOND Ripon Grammar School student has been selected to stand for the UK Youth Parliament.

Up against RGS sixth former Sarah Jayan, 16, and two other candidates for the North Yorkshire West seat, Rutvik Onteddu, from Ripon, says he will use his role, if elected, to help improve the lives of his fellow students and give them a voice.

The 13-year-old is calling for shops selling vapes to have e-cigarette licences, for a national religious education curriculum and for free public transport for under-18s. He also wants more done to tackle climate change.

A member of the Ripon Youth Council, he first got interested in politics in the run-up to the last general election when he read all the campaign leaflets that came through his door.

“I read them, every single one, after school and then went on to learn more and more about politics.”

“I stood for Youth Parliament because I realised that no matter how much we complained about our lives, it'd make no difference. Although I thought I had no chance.”

“Mainly up against sixth formers who had more experience in politics, I was delighted to be shortlisted for our constituency.”

Voting begins in mid-January and runs until the end of February, If elected, Rutvik, who hopes to study economics at university, will get to meet with MPs and local councillors, organise events, run campaigns, make speeches, hold debates and ensure the views of young people are heard by decision makers.

He feels strongly about people selling vapes to under-18s and intends to campaign for a mandatory licence: “This will prevent the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. I also suggest a limited number of authorised e-cigarette licences for a region. This will prevent sales to minors and sales from sketchy dealers. I also propose that anybody caught selling to a minor more than once shall have a permanent ban from getting a licence to sell e-cigarettes.”

He will also call for free buses for students: “I know people in my class who spend £1,200 a year on buses. Free transport allows children to have opportunities they’ve never had before without worrying about finances.”

He also wants to overhaul the national RE curriculum, which he says is highly outdated and inaccurate: “There should be the same standards everywhere, no-one should be left behind.”

And he’s keen to act on climate change: “We need to transition into more environmentally friendly ways. Let’s take care of our world before it’s too late. I suggest improving public transportation and let’s buy more electric buses.”

Rutvik’s manifesto

The youngest modern Prime Minister (after the 1900s) was 42 years old when he entered office. His name was Rishi Sunak. All of us youth know 42 is far too old to represent our youth; our problems differ from the problems of a 42-year-old man. This was the reason that the youth parliament was created to talk about our issues, not our parents' or grandparents’, ours.

So what are my policies if I become a member of the Youth Parliament?

  1. Transportation for Young people is so expensive. Although bus transport in North Yorkshire costs £1 one way, multiply that by approximately 200 and then multiply it by another 2, and that's £400 a year. Free transport allows children to have opportunities they’ve never had before without worrying about finances.
  2. A reformation in the RE curriculum. This is a much-needed change as the RE curriculum is both highly outdated and highly inaccurate. I suggest creating a national curriculum assuring all schools across the UK have the same depth and standards of teaching Religious Education.
  3. We need to transition into more environmentally friendly ways and look at our world. Let’s take care of it before it’s too late. So I suggest improving our public transportation and adding more bus stops. And let’s slowly buy more electric buses rather than petrol or diesel buses to become more sustainable.
  4. Create a mandatory licence for anybody who wants to sell e-cigarettes (commonly referred to as vapes). This will prevent the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. I also suggest a limited number of authorised e-cigarette licences for a region. This will prevent sales to minors and sales from sketchy dealers. I also propose that anybody caught selling to a minor more than once shall have a permanent ban from getting a licence to sell e-cigarettes.

The future is in our hands and in our hands alone. Because when we look back on ourselves, whether it be 5 or 50 years into the future, we will always regret our decisions, always. Every decision has a what-if, so vote for the person you’re going to regret the least.




TRANSLATED INTO BRAINROT


Rishi Sunak being the youngest PM at 42 is a major L. He’s literally ancient—how is a boomer supposed to understand our lore? Our problems are built different, and his vibes are just not it. That’s why the Youth Parliament exists: to stop the NPC energy and actually talk about our issues, not our parents' cringe problems.

If I get elected to the Youth Parliament, here is the patch notes for my manifesto:

The Transport Meta is Broken

Paying for buses is a total scam. Even at £1, that’s £400 a year—my bank account is literally on 0 HP. We need free transport so everyone can have main character energy and go wherever they want without their wallet getting cooked.

RE Curriculum: Mega Mid

The current RE curriculum is lagging. It’s outdated, low-tier, and honestly just wrong. We need a global buff to the national curriculum so every school has the same high-IQ teaching. No more mid standards.

Saving the Map (No Cap)

We need to touch grass and save the planet before it’s game over. I’m proposing we buff public transport with more stops and swap those dusty diesel buses for electric ones. It’s time to be sustainable or the planet is going to be cooked.

Monitoring the Lobby

We need to gatekeep e-cigarettes with a mandatory license to stop them from reaching minors. I’m proposing a limit on licenses per region to kick the sketchy dealers from the server. If a shop gets caught selling to kids twice, they get permabanned from selling ever again. Big W.

The future is in our hands. Don't get caught in 4K making a bad choice. Whether it’s in 5 years or 50, every decision has a "what if," so vote for the person who has the most aura.