Youth Voice Journal (YVJ) is an international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that publishes theoretical contributions and empirical studies on international issues affecting young people. YVJ is published by IARS Publications, a member of COPE. YVJ is ranked and indexed by Scopus, ORCID, Kudos, Criminal Justice Abstracts, EBSCO Information Services and The European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS).
This paper reports the results from a deliberative event for young people (16- to 18-yearolds), inspired by the UK Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s 2014 report, A new Magna Carta?, which asked whether Britain should adopt a written constitution. Deliberative events are a potential vehicle for engaging young people with potentially distant political issues. We found that participating in deliberative activities increased young people’s knowledge about the constitutional options set out in A new Magna Carta?, and it also crystallised opinions about Britain’s constitution. Our research was clear in finding little support among our participants for a written constitution, and it was also clear that deliberation, if anything, entrenched support for the status quo. We further suggest that parliamentarians and policy makers might use deliberative-polling events more systematically and routinely to consult and empower young people on issues that affect them directly.
Key words: young people, deliberation, political participation, the British constitution
Feature image taken by Flickr under Creative Commons Licence – the original can be accessed here.
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