EIGHTEEN aspiring young politicians from across Cumbria will be battling it out in the hopes of securing a position in UK Youth Parliament.

The Members of Youth Parliament (MYP) candidates have been nominated from Carlisle and Eden, Allerdale and Copeland and Barrow and South Lakeland.

The candidates are campaigning in schools, academies and colleges across the county, delivering presentations in assemblies and taking part in hustings events.

Voting opened on Monday (February 26) and all students at participating schools, academies and colleges will be provided with an individual ballot card.

The successful candidates will take over from the three current Cumbrian MYP’s - Jacob Reid for Carlisle and Eden, Matthew Suddart for Allerdale and Copeland) and Lucia Harrington for Barrow and South Lakeland.

The trio have had a busy year in office, including attending a UKYP debate in the House of Commons in November, chaired by Commons Speaker, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP.

The results of the ballot will be announced on March 16, 2018 at County Hall in Kendal.

The candidate in each geographical area with the highest number of votes will become the MYP and the candidate with the second highest number of votes in each geographical area will become the Deputy MYP.

One of the first duties of the newly elected Cumbrian MYP’s will be to host a residential ‘Youthforia’ conference at The Brathay Trust near Ambleside in April.

They will also contribute to selecting the top 10 issues to be considered later in the year as part of the national Make Your Mark ballot.

The Make Your Mark ballot enables young people to have a say on the issues that affect them in their communities, and these are then considered for national debate by their locally elected MYP’s.

Councillor Anne Burns, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “The UK Youth Parliament presents an amazing opportunity and platform for young people. It’s so important to understand how representation works and to highlight the issues that matter to young people. They are our leaders of the future, and engaging in the UKYP election, whether standing as a candidate or simply casting a vote, is a fantastic way to learn about democracy. Well done to everyone taking part and good luck to all of the candidates ahead of the election!”

A marketing website, featuring all of the Cumbrian candidates and their manifestos is also available to view at http://www.mi-event.info/event/cccukyp18.