Ayr pupil is star of youth parliament

Mar 27 2009 by Stuart Wilson

Unsung Hero is star of parly

HE’S the next Gordon Brown – and he’s got the trophy to prove it.

But schoolboy Brian Borland can’t think of anything worse than being a politician.

The Ayr Academy pupil has been named the Unsung Hero of Scotland’s youth parliament.

But he insists politics is not a game he wants to play in years to come.

Brian, 18, laughed: “The idea of being a politician doesn’t appeal to me at all.

“I’m simply a member of the youth parliament because I want to represent young people’s views.

“There’s more than 150 of us who come from across Scotland to discuss youth issues.

“It’s a big responsibility to represent so many people, but I really enjoy it.”

Brian, who was elected in the South Ayrshire ward, has been a leading member of the parliament for almost two years.

He served under its most famous member, John Loughton, who won a Celebrity Hijack series of Big Brother last year.

Brian, of Coylton, revealed: “John was our chairperson, so we had quite a lot of contact with him before he went on Big Brother.

“He wanted to give young people a voice and I’m exactly the same. I don’t always agree with what they tell me, but I have to represent their views.

“We’ve recently started a campaign which says being young is not a crime.

“For example, not everyone who wears a hoodie is a bad person. It’s important for us to get that message across.”

And the sixth-year pupil added: “It means a lot for me to win the unsung hero award – but I’m not sure what I did to deserve it.

“I was actually nominated for three other awards, including Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament of the year.”

For more information on the youth parliament, visit www.syp.org.uk