A Bolton election candidate has been to one of the town’s newest schools to take some “tough questions” on politics.

Yasmin Qureshi represented Bolton South East until this years election and is now standing for the newly redrawn seat of Bolton South and Walkden.

With the election in full swing she paid a visit to King’s Leadership Academy in Great Lever to speak with the school’s Student Parliament.

Ms Qureshi said: “It is fantastic to be invited by King’s.

“The students at King’s are heavily engaged in politics and completely on top of the issues.

Ms Qureshi with studentsMs Qureshi with students (Image: Office of Yasmin Qureshi MP)

"School visits often pose the toughest questions and this was no different.

“It really shows that, despite the popular myth, young people are keen and are more than ready to get involved in the debates about what will be their future.

“This is why Labour are extending the voting franchise to 16, something I fully support.”

Ms Qureshi’s talk with the students included a question-and-answer session which covered the political process and what she makes of the current political climate.

The event also allowed both Ms Qureshi herself and the members of the Student Parliament to discuss some of the key issues facing young people in Bolton and around the country.

The event comes after a busy few months for King’s, which teaches young people between the ages of 11 and 16 and first opened in September 2019.

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The Great Lever school opened its landmark new building, which includes classrooms and science labs, a library, music facilities and dining rooms, in January.

Until then it had been using a temporary site nearby on Freshfield Avenue since it was first founded.

The Great Lever area forms a key part of the newly redrawn Bolton South and Walkden constituency, which will be up for grabs in the upcoming general election.

Also standing in Bolton South and Walkden are Independent Don Prof Reis Abraham Halliwell PRF, Conservative Mohammed Afzal, Gemma Bowker of the Liberal Democrats, Jack Khan of the Workers Party, Philip Kochitty of the Green Party and Reform UK’s Julie Pattison.

The general election will be held on July 4.