Young people have their say at GM Mayor’s Question Time

On Thursday 8 October, young people from Youth Leads UK headed to The Victoria Hall in Bolton for Greater Manchester Mayor’s Question Time, and made sure their voices were heard in the room.

Mayor’s Question Time gives residents across Greater Manchester the chance to hear directly from the Mayor and put their questions on the issues that matter most to their communities, from transport and housing to jobs, policing and culture. The event was open to everyone and livestreamed for those who couldn’t attend in person.

Aaliah, one of our young leaders on the Youth Civic Leadership Programme, and who is now a trustee, stood up in front of a packed hall to ask about the impact of growth and investment on young people.

She asked:

“We’re seeing loads of investment and growth in Manchester city centre with more businesses and interest coming into the region. So we’re in Bolton today, how do you see the rest of greater Manchester benefiting from that growth and what do you think it means for young people who are starting out their careers and really want to grow their careers in the region as well?”

The question was answered by Mayor Bev Craig, who responded:

“Great thank you, great question and I think for me creating jobs and opportunities everywhere in greater Manchester has to be the next iteration of the growth that we have.

You know it’s one of the reasons why we went and sought the additional investment of a global firm like Astimo… that was hundreds of millions of pounds of jobs into Bolton that people would be able to access in Bolton and I think there’s an interesting balance that there’ll always be a big draw to the city centre. The trick is how we use that to our advantage in places like Bolton town centre…

I made an announcement this week, so it’s good employment week that says if you get money from us either through procurement or the good growth fund, there’s some basic things we’d expect. You have to sign up to the good employment charter, if you’re a landlord you have to sign up to the good landlord charter.

We want to get stuff out of you when it comes to social value, you have to commit to how many jobs you’ll create and you have to say how many work placements or apprenticeships you’ll create for our young people and that’s about how we demand more from the money coming in and goes for somebody building a high rise on public land on, on private land in the city centre as much as it goes for somebody building jobs on public land that we’ll demand from that money.”

Too often, young people are left out of the conversations that shape their lives. Events like Mayor’s Question Time are a chance to change that, by putting young people’s questions directly to the people making decisions.

It builds on the work of our Youth Civic Leadership Programme, which supports young people from underrepresented communities to step into civic roles. Earlier this year, we held our Your Turn to Lead Civic Panel in partnership with GMCA, where young people heard from local councillors, trustees and young leaders about how to get involved in decision-making.

After the event, Aaliah said:

“Growing up in Bolton, it was really special to have the Mayor of Greater Manchester come to our town and have the opportunity to ask a question about the future of our region. I wanted to understand how the growth happening in Manchester can benefit places like Bolton and create more opportunities for young people starting their careers. Being able to ask that question and be part of the conversation made the event really valuable to me. I think it’s so important that young people feel confident speaking up, asking questions and having their voices heard, especially on issues that affect their future. Opportunities like this help us feel more connected to local decision-making and remind us that we have an active role and opportunity in shaping the communities we call home.”

The full Mayor’s Question Time is available to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/9UovxjYZeoA?si=Pw972Gf-sSdD0Dx0&t=3323