PARISH and town councils in Ryedale are to spearhead a campaign which could revolutionise the voting system.

The district's branch of the Yorkshire Local Councils' Association, the voice of 600 councils, has succeeded in getting a resolution approved at county level calling for the age limit for young people to stand for election to local authorities to be reduced from 21 to 18.

It now goes before the conference of the national Association of Local Councils, to be held in London in November, where one of its leading supporters will be Coun Gaynor de Barr, the branch chairman and a long-serving member Pickering Town Council and former mayor of the market town.

"It is a strange anomaly that an 18-year-old can fight for their country, vote in elections, drive a car and a host of other things, yet cannot stand for election," she said. "I believe our young people have a great deal to offer their communities. Our resolution is a step in the right direction because it could result in much more interest in local elections."

The YLCA believes that lowering the age limit could be particularly beneficial with the prospect of a number of existing town and parish councillors nationally likely to stand down when new elections are held next May.

Some 216 local councillors nationwide have recently resigned after refusing to sign new code of conduct agreements - Rillington lost six members.

If the resolution is approved by the national conference, it will then be sent to the government for potential action.

Coun de Barr, who is also vice-chairman of the Yorkshire Local Councils' Association, added: "Being eligible for election to a council will give young people a sense of ownership of their community. It could lead to increased turnouts because, at present, I am sure that many question why they should vote under a system from which they are disenfranchised."

A number of councils now had youth councils, said Coun de Barr. Pickering's youth council, one of a small handful in North Yorkshire, was successful until it lost three members through road traffic accidents.

Updated: 09:18 Wednesday, September 25, 2002