A panel discussion to debate political involvement among young people will take place in the run up to the election.

On April 27, The Book Club, in Leonard Street, will host Generation Y: Your Vote Counts, with speakers and artists exploring topics that resonate with people aged 16 to 35, such as housing, employment and education.

Organiser Rose Payne said: “We decided to put this event on because we have a really interesting and interested bunch of customers who are quite politically engaged but might not necessarily know where their political beliefs lie.

“Political parties are trying to connect with young people but they are not doing it in the best way – young people often feel that with issues affecting them, parties are skimming over or don’t know how to deal with them.

“We wanted to organise a panel discussion with inspiring young millennials to show they are interested in politics, and use that discussion to inspire a few people.”

Speakers at the Shoreditch event include Sara Ghaffari from Bite The Ballot, a party neutral movement that aims to ensure young people make informed decisions at the ballot box, among others.

Miss Payne said: “We tried to look for speakers who were young people themselves actively looking at the issues being discussed and we are lucky enough there are a lot of people out there who are trying to do something interesting.”

Sara Ghaffari said: “For me I am of that age group and I go to The Book Club so I said yes to the event. Even if people don’t think they are necessarily interested in voting there is no harm in coming and listening. You might have a change in opinion.”

It’s estimated that millennials make up 5.6 million of the UK’s population and their votes have the potential to make a difference.

Miss Payne added: “I think that we are quite an interesting generation and we are stuck in the middle of a pretty big recession.

“We are one of the first generations that are not clear that we will be much better than the generation before us, economically and with security. So, while it is completely understandable that people feel disconnected to politics, it is important they do vote.”

Tickets cost £7.50, visit wearetbc.com to book.