A 16-YEAR-OLD girl who has become an active campaigner with a new North Yorkshire for Europe group is calling for the voting age to be lowered to include younger generations.

Charlie Hancock, a supporter with North Yorkshire For Europe, is calling for young members of society to have a greater say in the future of the country, saying they are the ones who will live longest with the consequences of Brexit.

Last week, Brexiteer and Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested it could take 50 years to judge whether Brexit would be an economic success, in an interview with Channel 4 News. Charlie, from Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, has been taking to the streets with the pro-Europe group, as they have carried out “pavement polls” with shoppers, asking them if they backed plans for a "People's Vote" on the Government’s final Brexit deal.

The group has so far visited town centres in Harrogate, Northallerton and Thirsk to speak to shoppers, residents and farmers, and claim they have found overwhelming support for a second referendum.

Charlie said her involvement in the group came after speakers for and against Brexit were invited into her school to debate the pros and cons of leaving Europe, with Baroness McIntosh of Pickering speaking in favour of remaining and detailing the likely impact on North Yorkshire’s farming community.

The student said after the debate, the students voted in school, with 75 per cent voting in favour of remain.

“If there’s a second referendum, the vote should be extended to 16. Your right to participate in democracy shouldn’t be a postcode lottery,” she said.

“If you were 14 at the time of the referendum just over two years ago, you will be aware of what is going on.

“We’re not just pre-occupied with what the Kardashians are doing, we’re not totally consumed with celebrity culture. We’re seeing a world taking shape which we do not recognise and we do not like."

Charlie said being European was part of her identity.

“I’m having part of my identity and my rights taken away from me, so why can’t I have a say in the ballot box?" she said.

“It’s all too easy to feel powerless and hopeless and even stop caring. Every individual does have the power to make a difference – we’re very aware of what’s going on in the wider arena. The people who are going to live with the Brexit vote the longest are the people who do not want to live with Brexit.”