A WINCHAM teenager has followed in the footsteps of the likes of Sir Winston Churchill as she delivered an impassioned speech at the House of Commons.

Representing the north west and Cheshire West and Chester, 17-year-old Jess Leigh stood at the Dispatch Box to speak during a UK Youth Parliament event on Friday, November 9.

She led the debate on giving young people the same amount of pay for doing the same work as adults, winning a standing ovation and praise from Speakers of the House of Commons, John Bercow.

Jess said: “If you told me two years that i would be elected to represent 1.9 million young people of the north west in the House of Commons I would have laughed, but that’s exactly what I did on Friday.

“When I stood up on Friday and walked to the Dispatch Box I could feel my whole body shaking, but then I looked around and I saw something promising, our generation.

“Not snowflake millennials but hundreds of young people being a force for change. I spoke from my heart and I spoke for our generation, for a brighter future.

“My aim is to change the world in my own little way, to create a better world for my children and I believe our generation will lead to this.”

Her speech, available to watch on the BBC iPlayer, argued that young people doing the same jobs as adults should be paid the same, which is not always the case due to the current national living wage brackets.

She told fellow members of the UK Youth Parliament: “Imagine you and a colleague are staff in the same café.

“You have trained your colleague to do the job for the past six months, teaching them everything they need to know to thrive and succeed like you are but, when comparing payslips, your friend is earning £3,000 more than you. Why? Because they are 25 and you are 17.

“Experience has nothing to do with it: you are being exploited because of your age. That is the reality for far too many.”

She went on to argue that the problem goes beyond the ‘bank of mum and dad’, with 86,000 young people homeless or at risk, and as she wrapped up her address the chamber rose to its feet to applaud.

Mr Bercow, who regularly oversees MP debates in the Commons, said: “That was a speech both passionate and remarkable. I hope I do not overuse those words, but I use them with real feeling.

“It was an exceptional contribution—quite exceptional.”