A NATIONAL charity is taking an inflatable sofa around Bradford to encourage young people to talk more about politics.

Youth charity Fixers hopes to get more young adults to register to vote ahead of the June 8 General Election.

Mariam Ahmed, a project co-ordinator with the charity, today took the sofa to City Park and Bradford College to encourage people to use their vote.

Miss Ahmed, 27, of Little Germany, Bradford, said turnout was particularly low in Bradford among young people, which she said may be due to its demographics.

For example, she said, as a young, gay woman from a black or minority ethnic background herself, she didn’t see anyone in Parliament who was like her.

But she said for this to change, young people from diverse backgrounds had to take a more active role in politics.

She said: “Speaking as a female, women died for the vote so if any female friends say they don’t vote, it angers me.”

Bradford College student Maria Makulova, 18, was one of the first to take to the settee.

She migrated to the UK from Slovakia as a child and said she was definitely planning to vote, as Brexit was one of her biggest concerns.

She said: "It's not good. I don't know why they are leaving the EU."

She said she worried about whether her future in Britain was secure, adding: "I have been living here since I was seven years old. I was born there but I was raised here."

Fellow student Umairah Sadiq, 18, said: "I'm registered to vote. I think every vote counts."

And Martina Kavciova, also 18, said she was "not yet" registered to vote, but would make sure she did so.

The deadline to register to vote is May 22. Visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or phone 01274 431360.