A city weekly is backing a campaign to encourage more young people to register to vote in May’s general election.

The Birmingham Post is supporting the No Vote No Voice campaign, which aims to get more people registered in time to participate in the May 7 contest.

The scheme is run by votebooster.org, which has created a web page which enable people to register online.

It is estimated that only 44pc of people aged 18-24 voted in the 2010 general election, compared with 75pc of people aged over 55.

Post editor Stacey Barnfield said: “Birmingham is talked about as being the youngest city in Europe with under 25s accounting for more than 40pc of the population.

“It is absolutely critical this youth demographic is engaged in the democratic process and we’ll do whatever we can to play our part.

“Many of these under-25s might not be familiar with the Post in print but through our growing social media and online presence I hope we can generate a bit of interest in the campaign to get a million more people on the electoral register.”

A piece promoting the campaign on the Post’s website added: “Comedian Russell Brand caused a stir when he suggested last year that people shouldn’t vote.

“But the problem with that idea is that if you don’t vote then people still get elected. It just means they are chosen by somebody else.

“This election is set to be the most unpredictable in decades. Nobody knows who is going to win.

“And there are more credible parties to choose from than before – with the Greens and UKIP running major campaigns, alongside the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Other local candidates could also have an impact in some seats.

“The West Midlands is also going to see some fierce battles between the parties in a series of marginal seats across the region.”