Voices is the Dorset Echo's weekly youth page, written for young people by young people. If you would like to write for Voices, please email alex.cutler@dorsetecho.co.uk

Everyone who can should vote in the next general election

In this age of lightning-fast political change, when it is evident that certain political groups and views once firmly in the shadows can so easily enter the mainstream, it is clearer than ever that every vote has great power.

So, I urge that all young people in this county vote in the upcoming general election if you are eligible to do so, as there is now a chance to make those at the top listen to our voices.

This opportunity to turn the tide of history is something uniquely beautiful within this nation, something millions crave for.

People across the globe have suffered revolutions, battled civil wars and lost their lives to attempt to attain what we were given years ago, and yet there are still those among us who do not vote.

And it is often those who are young, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, who make the least use of this privilege.

But it is us that will have to clean our darkening oceans, and it is us that will have to help those that our politicians’ decisions have turned into refugees, and it is us that will have to devote our time and resources to find ways for our species to stay alive.

So, make sure you cast your vote if you are able to do so, as the future is in your hands.

By Dan Bavister