Last week we learned that not only is David Cameron refusing to take part in the televised leaders’ debates, but that he also declined Bite The Ballot’s #LeadersLive series as well.

For those of you who do not know, Bite The Ballot has been running an online series aimed at the 16-24 age bracket. Each leader faces an hour of questions put to them from a live audience and via social media. The other party leaders, including Ed Miliband, all found the time to take part in this event, aimed at trying to engage young people in the general election and make sure young voices are being heard.

Cameron’s refusal to take part speaks volumes about his attitude towards young people since assuming office. True, a prime minister is busy, but we are talking about one hour of his time to engage with an entire group of voters. It begs the question: what exactly is Cameron’s problem with young people?

I think he is scared of answering our questions, and I do not blame him. Cameron’s policies towards young people have not won him much of a fan-following – trebling tuition fees, scrapping the Future Jobs Fund, and ending Building Schools for the Future to name just a few. These policy decisions made by him have damaged youth prospects in this country. Understandably, young people are angry, and some are increasingly sceptical of party politics as a result.

Compare this to Ed Miliband. He wants to create a Youth Jobs Guarantee, reform higher education – making it easier to access than ever – ban the exploitative zero-hours contracts that take advantage of many young people, raise the minimum wage, and expand good quality apprenticeships. But it is not just these policies that illustrate the difference in attitude between the two leaders.

Cameron has decided that not only will he refuse to answer our questions, he is going to try to disenfranchise us completely. The move to individual electoral registration is a cynical and politically motivated policy, which only serves to make it difficult for people to vote – in particular young people. Since it came into effect, literally hundreds of thousands of students have fallen off the electoral register.

As a party we understand the importance of engaging in democratic processes and having a stake in society. Ed was so opposed to this change in voter registration, that the Labour party has recently recruited ‘student vote activators’ to work with Labour Students societies up and down the country to reregister these young people.

May 7 is an opportunity for young people to choose a prime minister who not only has great youth policy, but who actively wants to listen to the voices of young people. The way we engage with politics is changing and developing all the time. Young people want to feel engaged with and part of the process, not just fobbed off with the odd, tokenistic policy. Ed’s turn on #LeadersLive was so good because he understands this.

He was relaxed, honest and built a really great connection with the young audience. Platforms like this allow political leaders to engage with a core group directly, away from the spin of the media and the archaic style of politics we get so tired of seeing on our television screens.

If we want a prime minister who understands young people and the way that politics is transforming, then we need to do everything we can to make sure Ed is elected in May. If we fail, we are failing those young people who will have to face five more years of an old-fashioned Tory prime minister who cannot spare one hour to even listen to our questions.

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Grace Skelton is Labour Students’ National Secretary and National Policy Forum representative. She tweets @GraceSkelton