YOUNG people in Scotland are being urged to head to the polls before the end of the Scottish Youth Parliament Elections.

They have until Friday, March 17 to make sure their voices are head after voting kicked off on Friday, March 3.

Thousands between the age of 12 and 25 have already had their say in the election which has over 300 candidates fighting for seats representing their constituency or voluntary organisation.

SYP – which has been influential in effecting change for young people across the country – has a current membership of approximately 150 young people from various backgrounds.

As a longstanding campaigner for votes at 16, it helped bring about policy change allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum, and in all subsequent Scottish Parliament and local government elections.

SYP’s work to encourage the Scottish Government to raise the age of criminal responsibility from eight to 12 was also successful this year, when this long-awaited change was announced.

More recently, 10 MSYPs met with the full Scottish cabinet on Tuesday, February 28 to discuss issues affecting young people today.

This historic event is now set to become an annual meeting and has firmly cemented the relationship SYP has with the Scottish Government in ensuring young people’s voices are not only heard but listened to.

For more information on candidates standing for election, and details on how to place a vote (online voting is available in most areas via Young Scot’s e-voting platform) visit www.syp.org.uk/stand4syp