Many young people not registered to vote - but there's still time

Young people aged 17 or 18 are being urged to register to vote in time for the General Election on 8th June.

New figures just released by the Electoral Reform Society show that the proportion of school leavers on the electoral roll dropped by over a quarter between 2013 and 2016 – with most of these missing voters now eligible to vote in this election. Shockingly, in one parliamentary constituency 75% of young people are not on the voting register. This follows the change from registration by household, to each voter having to register individually.

Claire Young, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Thornbury and Yate parliamentary consituency, said:

"This election is about the type of country we want to live in, a chance to change Britain's future. Young people will be living with the results for many years to come. It's vital that they get a say in that future"

"Whatever your age, if you haven't already registered, you need to do so before 11:59pm on 22 May if you want to be able to vote in the General Election on 8 June. You can do it online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote - you may need to have your National Insurance number at hand to prove who you are"

Share your views on future of registration service

South Gloucestershire Council is reviewing the way it provides registration services for births, deaths and marriages.

Currently the service offers pre-booked appointments at Frenchay, Kingswood, Thornbury and Yate. The council now proposes to concentrate the service at two locations - Frenchay and either Kingswood or Thornbury.

You can find out more and have your say on the council's website. The consultation finishes on 3rd August.

The suggestion is that a service in two locations would be open much more of the week, as opposed to just a couple of days at Yate, but of course people would have to travel further to get there. Which would you rather have? A local service or an all-week service? Please have your say.

The proposal would not stop people getting married at Poole Court - that's a separate arrangement.

Don't lose your vote

The Register of Electors forms are arriving on our doormats. Don't forget to return yours! If you aren't on the electoral register you can't vote in elections - and the register also gets checked if you apply for credit.

It doesn't take long to fill out the form. If there are no changes you can simply do it by telephone or online. Remember that if you won't want your details used for marketing, you need to tick the right-hand column on the form, confirm that to the person on the telephone or tick the box on the online-form.