Ulster Unionist candidate for West Tyrone, Alicia Clarke, has called on young people to come out and vote in this election as they could be the difference between change or more of the same. Alicia is the youngest candidate running with the Ulster Unionist Party for an Assembly seat and one of the youngest candidates running in the election overall.

Alicia Clarke said:

“On the doors the electorate seem genuinely angry and are fed up of the DUP/Sinn Fein incompetence and arrogance. But now more than ever we need people to come out and vote on the 2nd March. If you are frustrated with the current state of politics, the only way this will change is if you use your vote and ‘Vote for Change’.

“I particularly want to encourage young people to come out and vote. Like you I was frustrated with things in Northern Ireland. I wanted to see change and then I realised that I could help bring about that change myself. So can you! You don't have to stand for election like me. But you can use your vote on 2nd March. If you are not registered to vote the deadline is the 14th February. You can be the change you long to see in Northern Ireland.

“The DUP and Sinn Fein have failed young people time and time again in Northern Ireland. They have perpetuated a segregated education system now buckling under financial pressures, they have failed to jumpstart our economy and bring enough jobs to Northern Ireland, they have failed to deliver adequate housing to meet the needs of our growing population, they have failed to deliver a health system which cares and supports young people to lead healthy lives both physically and mentally – and the list goes on. Now they have landed you with the RHI bill, which you will potentially be paying off for years to come.

“The reason why I put my name forward for an Assembly seat was because I want to make sure you have a better future than this. The Ulster Unionist Party has fought for a better education system from the first Ulster Unionist Education Minster, Lord Londonderry in 1921, to today in the chamber fighting for protections against the closure of both Outdoor Education Centres and isolated rural schools. We do not want to see cuts and closures, we want to see the services provided to young people prosper and grow. 

“You cannot afford five more years of this. Enough is enough – ‘Vote for Change’ on 2nd March.”