POLITICIANS are clamouring for votes ahead of the General Election but it is young people they will be particularly wanting to impress.

First time voters may head to the polling station to cast their ballot while those who can't make their minds up may not bother to go at all.

Student Chelsea Rusling, 18, is a first-time voter from Bradford. Chelsea, who is currently studying for a public services level three extended diploma, says she is deliberating whether or not to vote as she doesn't know whether the parties can keep to their promises.

"I am debating at the moment. I keep on seeing what they are saying. I know in the past they said they would reduce the price of university costs and ended up not doing that," she said.

Employment and housing are the key issues concerning Chelsea, a volunteer with the youth council within e:merge, a young people's charity delivering youth work to transform the lives and communities of young people in Bradford. "I have got a part-time job but I haven't got a full-time job to walk into," she adds.

According to a recent survey by BBC Radio 1 and Newsbeat, only a quarter of young people say they will definitely vote.

The survey polled more than 6,000 adults aged 18 to 24 to find out what political issues are important to them. Key policies included health care, with 42 per cent saying that managing the NHS should be the highest priority for the Government, followed by keeping down the cost of everyday items such as food, energy and travel.

Improving housing affordability was also important for young people, with twice as many regarding it as one of their top three priorities than the British public as a whole.

Adam Woodhouse, senior youth worker with The Edge, a neighbourhood youth group on Bradford's Holme Wood estate, says he believes young people feel the Government has let them down.

"They have seen elderly relatives who are ill and not been able to easily access to the support they need. Or young people who have turned 18 who have had to leave their family home as their parent will have a huge cut in benefits if they remained in the house as they will become a second adult," he said.

"Young people are saying that they are not connecting with the "posh" people in London who have no idea what its like to live in a estate in Bradford. They don't see the point of voting as "nothing changes."

"They see the Government taking away the support they need, the youth workers who have been helping them through some tough times in life or they see family members not receiving the help they need and just feel that London/Government is a million miles away.

"I feel the young people need to find a connection, something that they understand in a language they understand," added Adam.

He also believes the political parties need to come down to their level. "Not in a patronising way, but talking about how they can help the young voters in an area like Bradford," he said.

Encouraging young people to take an interest in politics is something Fulneck School in Pudsey has been focusing on recently. The school gave its pupils a real insight into the political arena by hosting a mock election.

Fulneck’s head of senior school David Newman said: “It is important that young people are engaged in the political process, and our pupils took this mock election very seriously indeed.

“Those standing had to promote key party policies and then participate in a Question Time style debate, which was attended by pupils for both the junior and senior schools.

“Questions put to them included tuition fees, NHS privatisation and the future of the armed forces."

The school's principal, Mrs Deborah Newman, says the initiative had sparked an interest and many of the older students were now considering politics as a subject to study.

"What it did was fire up a real interest right across every year group. As a school what we have been trying to do alongside that is trying to say to them that their voice is important.

"It is about making a difference and that was the message we really focused on throughout the term - can one person make a difference and the answer is probably on your own no, but once a few of you get behind something you really will make a difference and that is what politics is about."