Mhairi Black: '˜We risk losing the voice of a generation'

Mhairi Black, SNP candidate for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, has urged younger voters to register before next week's deadline. Picture: John Devlin/TSPL

The SNP candidate for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, who was returned as the youngest MP of the modern era in 2015, is urging people to secure their vote before Monday, May 22.

It follows a report from the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) which said young people in the UK face a “voter registration time bomb”, with the number of school leavers registered to vote dropping by more than a quarter over the past three years.

Black made the call ahead of flying to Shetland where she will join Shetland and Orkney SNP candidate Miriam Brett, 25, to campaign to unseat Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael.

“We risk losing the voice of a generation - young people must ensure they are registered to vote, and they use their vote on June 8 to stand against a Tory Government,” Black said.

“Too often the views of young people are not represented. It was the Lib Dems that U-turned on their promise to scrap tuition fees and badly let young people down. But the younger generation has the opportunity to make their mark come polling day.

“Registering online to vote takes a matter of minutes- it is so important that young people who want to vote do this before next May 22.”