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Salford student standing to be MP urges young people to vote in General Election

Thursday 4 May 2017

A Salford student who is standing to be a MP in the general election has encouraged young people to make sure they vote in the general election in June.

Kieron Wilson, 22, will be standing for the seat of Bournemouth East as an independent candidate, which has been a Conservative stronghold for over 45 years.

Kieron, who is in the final year of his BA (Hons) politics degree, says if he is elected in as MP, he hopes to represent the voice of young people in Bournemouth.

He also outlined plans to set up a volunteer led mental health charity which he would partly fund from his MP's salary. 

He said: “I decided to stand for MP because the demographic of Bournemouth is changing, and there are a lot of young people who live there, who are not being represented as well as they could be. So I felt that I had to do something. I’m saying I will represent the voice of young people, and I really would encourage young people to make sure they vote on June 8th.

Kieron says that one of the reasons that he wants to become a member of parliament once he graduates, is because of his experiences working in the National Health Service.  

He continued: “It really concerns me what is happening with the national health service. I have volunteered as a housekeeper at a hospital for five years, and over that time I have been left feeling that the NHS is not in safe hands and is on a slope to privatisation. We should be proud of having a free health service". 

During his degree, Kieron has had the opportunity to take part in several political campaigns. Last year, he was selected by campaign group 45 for the 45th to be involved in the US presidential election.poster

He continued: “Going to Ohio to and being around the buzz of the US election was an amazing experience. I even had the chance to go to a Donald Trump rally, and while I don’t necessarily agree with his policies, it was an experience that I will never forget.”

Dr Daniel Lomas, lecturer in International History at the University of Salford, said: “It's great to see that Kieron is standing in the General Election. When it's been suggested that 18-21 year olds are less likely to become engaged in traditional electoral politics, we need to highlight the experiences of people like Kieron to show that young people are interested in having a say on how the country is run.

Kieron is an outstanding role model and it's a joy to see our students supplementing their knowledge and passion for politics with active participation in the General Election and political campaigning.”

Kieron is standing in the general election on the 8th June for the seat of Bournemouth East, against Conservative candidate Tobias Ellwood, Labour candidate Melanie Semple, Liberal Democrat candidate Jon Nicholas and the Green Party candidate Alasdair Keddie.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday 22nd May.

Find out more

Victoria Barker

0161 295 4779