[4] Formed in 2000, the parliament has 395 members, who are elected to represent the views of young people in their area to government and service providers.

[8] A Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) works with MPs, service providers, and decision makers in order to present the views of their constituents to them.

[7] Deputies work with and support their Member of Youth Parliament locally and regionally, but are not entitled to attend the Annual Conference or other national events – unless their MYP is unable to.

[9] The UK Youth Parliament elections are held every one or two years (depending on the local authority), with all young people between the ages of 11 and 18 being entitled to vote or stand.

The keynote speakers were: In May 2008, the UKYP was granted permission to hold a debate between over 300 MYPs in the House of Lords,[13] making it one of only two organisations to ever use the venue for non-Parliamentary proceedings, the other being the English Speaking Union for their International Mace Final on 12 May 2007.

[21] The debates were chaired by John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, who closed the event with a dramatic speech to MYPs in which he described the British National Party as "a poison which we could well do without".

[22] The Speaker is usually expected to remain impartial, so as not to compromise his authority, but in this case was able to express personal opinion because the ornamental mace that indicates Parliament is sitting was not in place.

The 5 topics which were debated were: The speech for the Cost of Living and Health, was led by Eshan Bilal, Member of Youth Parliament for Burnley and Pendle, which also happened to win a majority in the voting, meaning that this was the new Priority Campaign.

Decisions regarding the development and progression of the organisation is undertaken by the Steering Group, made up of one MYP elected from each region and nation (known as "SGs"), for a 12-month term from 1 February to 31 January the following year.

[27] They meet a minimum of four times a year to represent their regions nationally, coordinate campaign efforts and organise events such as the Annual Conference.