Hopefuls from opposite ends of the age spectrum

Robert Leakey, 95, and Dylan Gilligan, 18, live only three miles apart in the constituency of Skipton and Ripon, one of England's largest.

Mr Leakey, 95, founded the Virtue Cognitive Currency Appraisal Party, stood as a county councillor in the 1950s and said that he would feel "very guilty" if he did not fight for Parliament.

In the 2005 General Election he received 0.5 per cent of the vote. He believes that Government should be run by the people, who should be able to send in motions directly to Parliament. Not only that, but he would like to "get rid of money altogether", and replace it with a barcode-style "virtue currency".

His anti-banker stance was not well received in 2005 but he is hopeful that, now that the world has woken up to the irresponsibility of bankers, his policies will be more popular.

Mr Leakey said: "I believe that money is the root of all evil and that bankers are part of the oldest criminal profession in the world. I wants money replaced by 'virtue currency.' When people need a service like food or schooling, they would have their money electronically deducted from their implanted 'VC chip'.

Of the age gap between himself and Mr Gilligan he said: "It's great that young people are aware of things going wrong. Educations fills the heads of youth today with so much knowledge that it switches them off from thinking for themselves. The Youth Party proves that does not have to be the case."

Mr Gilligan, a performing arts student, is determined to stand up for young people's rights but added: "I think it is great that someone of Bob's age is standing as elderly people get just as disregarded as younger people. Age should not be a barrier."

The Youth Party believes in encouraging young people to get involved with the decision-making that affects their future.

"I want voters, especially first time voters, to look at what each candidate is offering, make a personal choice, and go out and vote on May 6th. It is so important for the future that we vote," he said.

"We're not just a bunch of kids getting together and thinking about politics. We believe that we can offer a higher standard of governing by making decisions that consider the future generations and not just next five years."

Mr Gilligan's political career began when he was the head of the youth council in Settle.