Monday was a special day for the candidates running to be Darlington’s next Member of Youth Parliament (MYP). After months of campaigning and the voting week taking place just 4 weeks before, a long journey came to a close. With the results all counted and some senior officials from Darlington Borough Council (DBC) being present, including the Mayor herself, it was a special night for every single one of them, including me.

Approximately one hour into the evening, we headed upstairs to the committee room, where we listened to a presentation by the Darlington BC Participation Officer, Evie Chambers, who explained the leading issue found as a result of the Make Your Mark elections, which took place during the same week as the MYP elections, along with the turnout in our area compared to 2022 (the last vote).

Then, after the introduction and the explanation of the Make Your Mark vote, we each had an opportunity as candidates to say a little bit about our campaign and what we were standing for to the senior DBC officials (Cllr. Stephen Harker (Pierremont & Council Leader) and Cllr. Nick Wallis (Haughton & Springfield), including the Mayor of Darlington, Cllr. Jan Cossins (Cockerton)) and to the parents or carers of the candidates.

After this, we all sat, waiting in anticipation as the mayor opened the envelope, revealing Darlington’s next MYP. With clear happiness, pride, and excitement from his parents as his name was read out, Stephen Adenuga was announced by the mayor as Darlington’s next MYP. He told me this: “I feel great, really. I just would like to thank everybody who helped me and supported me along the way. I hope to be able to get a lot done and achieve change for the young people of Darlington.”

Stephen’s first duty as Darlington’s MYP was to announce the next Deputy MYP of Darlington. Opening the envelope, he announced that Jack James would be taking on this role. It was clear that he was over the moon to be able to serve as the Deputy MYP of Darlington and offer meaningful change for the young people of Darlington.

Furthermore, it was announced by DBC’s Participation Officer, Evie Chambers, that a youth cabinet will be formed, serving the young people of Darlington, with every single candidate taking part, indicating that this was merely the end, but the beginning of an opportunity to play an active role in this and work to offer more for the young people living and studying in the Darlington area.

Finally, as a candidate, I can say that I have had a great opportunity to run and was happy to be able to have the experience of running for public office. I feel that this experience will help me in the future.