Ella Roper-Marshall, a Year 11 student at St Katherine’s School in Pill, is standing as a candidate for a place on Bristol City’s Youth Council.

This month, young people across Bristol will have the chance to vote in 28 people who will represent their views to adult decision-makers for the next two years.

Ella says that the main reason she decided to stand for election was her discovery that just 44 per cent of people aged 18-24 voted at the last election compared to 76 per cent of people aged over 65.

She said: “This poses a huge problem for the youngest people in our society because it means we aren’t being taken into account in political decision-making.”