FIGURES show an increase in young people’s intention to vote in South Wales at next year’s General Election, according to youth volunteering charity vInspired.

The data collected by vInspired’s Swing the Vote campaign shows that 50 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds in South Wales intend to vote on May 7 next year.

Rising living costs, unemployment and the future of the NHS are the top issues that need addressing to win the youth vote with 41 per cent of young people saying they are still unsure who to vote for.

The charity has launched the campaign to call on young people to ensure their voice is heard and represented at the next General Election.

Moira Swinbank, vInspired chief executive said: “It’s encouraging to see such a dramatic increase in intention to vote amongst young people. At vInspired we know that young people in South Wales are not apathetic about shaping the world around them and this increase shows that despite previous low turnouts, young people do care about the direction of the country and want to have their say, provided they can trust that their view are represented by politicians.

“It’s important to address the key issues that they care about, and with 6.8 million votes at stake nationally; politicians will certainly need to take them seriously.”