The race is on for 8 candidates who have launched their campaigns in the hope of becoming this year's member of the Youth Parliament representing Sutton. This involved a brief outline of their key goals in a concise video, along with work on social media and detailed updates on the suttonyouth.org website.

What with recent doubts regarding the this generation's commitment to politics, these budding politicians are more valuable than ever. In 20 years time, Britain could be depending on these people.

The big day is Thursday 29th of January. 10 Sutton schools will be hosting polling stations during the day for students  to anonymously mark their ballot paper with a first and second choice. The most popular candidate wins a place in the UK Youth Parliament. This is an exclusive selection of around 300 young people - half the number of adult MP's in the House of Commons - democratically voted in by high school and college students across the nation. It provides a unique platform giving 11-18 year olds the opportunity to become involved in UK politics and make a real impact on significant issues that are relevant to them. For example, it's national campaign for 2015 aims to ensure that all workers are paid the living wage, a focus agreed collectively by the MYP's (Members of Youth Parliament) from a shortlist of ideas chosen by 876,000 of their peers nationwide.

Farida Augustine, 16, is already a proactive member of Sutton Youth Parliament and is standing in this January's election. Her political aspirations are matched by an intelligent outlook and resolute enthusiasm. This is demonstrated by her perceptive and very convincing argument for lowering the age at which people can vote:"As a 16 year old I can fight and die for my country; get a job; get married and legally have kids. So why shouldn't we be given the right to have a say in who runs our country? I also think that the fact that we are not given the vote allows the government not to take us seriously and weakens our democracy and makes young people feel like our opinions and views aren't valid. So if we did get to vote not only would it empower more young people to engage in politics further and play an active role in society, it would also allow us to have more of a say in the decisions that will ultimately affect us."

Farida also stressed the importance of the government not only listening to everyone's views, but really acting on them, "We all have valid opinions, whether we are part of a youth parliament or not".

She believes that our generation has more to contribute to politics than is often recognised, for example, "We are more willing to really fight for what we believe in all the way to the end. That's probably why the majority of protesters that take to the streets are usually young people - just take the recent Scottish referendum as an example".

Each hopeful MYP presents 3 pledges they have chosen to lead their campaign with. One particularly close to Farida's heart concerns the running of mental health services. She believes they need Youth Parliament's input to be made more "young people-friendly" - that is, more accessible to those worried about "the huge stigma surrounding it, which makes it harder for us to seek help". Additionally, she expressed concerns that "the education system does not really prepare us for 'real life'", pointing out that "we have the right to have some input in the system, especially if we are going to be in that institution for our whole childhood" - since it has now been made compulsory to remain in education until the increased age of 18.

She values UK Youth Parliament because it "allows the voice of young people to be directly heard by politicians both locally and nationally. She specifically mentioned the opportunity for MYP's to attend an annual debate in the House of Commons itself, where issues genuinely relevant to 11-18 year olds can be discussed with the aim of bringing about tangible change. "We are able to have an impact on issues on behalf of all young people who are not part of UKYP as well as the ones in our constituency"

I then gave Farida the floor to tell me why she should be elected this January. Her eloquent response certainly convinced me - "Young people should vote for me because I adamantly believe I can and will make a huge difference to Sutton. I am not doing this just because I think it'll look good on my CV, I'm doing this because I don't think we are given enough of an input into the way things are run in our own communities - let alone the country - so if you vote for me I will make sure to give you a valid voice and listen to what YOU have to say and will fight to let that happen. So vote for me if you want someone to fight for you."

Farida is a shining example demonstrating why it is vital that young people continue to influence national politics. Schemes like Youth Parliament enable talents like her to instigate positive change and express views of a calibre that deserves to be taken seriously.

Hannah Cookson Sutton High School