A WYRE Forest vicar has shown concern about the dwindling number of 18-year-olds registering to vote for this year's elections.

With the General and the Local Elections hitting the ballots in May, Reverend Eva McIntyre, vicar of Stourport-on-Severn and Wilden, is worried that those who have come of age have not realised that would-be voters not on the electoral register, now have to register themselves.

She said: "The new system of registering to vote, which requires individuals to do so if they are not already on the electoral register, is proving a challenge when it comes to those turning 18 in the run up to the General Election in May.

"Under the old system, the householder – often a parent – would register all those eligible. Now, each individual must take on the responsibility and many have not got this message.

"With young people feeling disengaged with politics and cynical about politicians, we really have to work hard to get them to take up their electoral rights and to vote. What the Government does, directly affects their lives in so many ways and if those who don’t vote, have no say."

The non-party political organisation the 'Bite the Ballot' campaign seeks to engage younger voters in politics, and is now having to work even harder to redress the balance and needs more support.

But Rev McIntyre, who worked for Christian Aid for six years where she saw people being denied the vote, isn't only concerned about registration and voting among the young, but also the disinterest among older voters.

"I’m really worried that people think it’s okay to not bother to vote. I feel this acutely as a woman; people died so that we could have the vote.

"There is a saying that a country gets the Government it deserves: I don’t think that’s universally true, actually – I’ve seen people denied the vote and also the passion of those who walk for hours or days to cast their vote, and it makes me ashamed of the turnout at our elections in the UK. I really hope that the benchmark set by Scotland in the referendum last year might inspire a higher turnout in May – but I fear it won’t."

To tackle these issues, the Churches in Stourport and Kidderminster will be running two debates with candidates in the Wyre Forest in the run up to the General Election. The first will take place on Tuesday, April 14, at 7.30pm at the Baxter URC Church, the Bullring, Kidderminster, and the second the following evening, at 7.30pm, at St Michael and All Angels Church, in Church Drive, Stourport.