DID you turn out to vote in the elections last week?

Well, as there was only a 33.2 per cent turn-out in Yorkshire and the Humber, the chances are that you did not and to any self-respecting politician, this should have been more of a kick up the backside than any which Mr Farage dealt us all.

Driving home, I was listening to the radio and heard that “turnout was very low at 78 per cent”. I nearly drove off the road when I heard that, but quickly realised it was an archive programme.

My intention is not to analyse the reasons for this decline, but to look to the future, which has to be in the hands of our young people.

In my role as Young People’s Champion for the county, it is my job to ensure that our young people are heard where it matters.

Believe me, they are the masters of communication, but with today’s new technology, I feel that some of us need an aid to hearing them, along with our hearing aids.

So, where does old school meet new school? Well, right is a picture taken at the final of the North Yorkshire County Council youth debate session.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so I am going to allow it to do its job and move on to my final point.

We have just appointed the youngest chairman nationally to lead the district council and this should be celebrated.

Like all young people Councillor Luke Ives is eager to embrace change and bring us into the 21st century.

If we want to encourage young people to stand for council, but moreover, retain them once they have gained experience, then surely it is beneficial to streamline our meetings, because no one in their right mind wants to sit in a meeting from 6.30pm in the evening until one o’clock in the morning.

To continue in the old way is not democracy, it’s an endurance test.

Janet Sanderson, Ryedale district councillor for Thornton-le-Dale and The Wolds wards