What do young people want from the new government?

Prince Daniels wants to help create a lasting legacy

Young people have called for the new government to address issues around mental health, house prices and the cost of living crisis.

Hundreds of students attended the Suffolk Youth Opportunities Event on Tuesday at Suffolk University's Waterfront Campus in Ipswich in collaboration with Youthwatch.

Some of the attendees told BBC Look East of several issues they felt youths struggled with that the new Labour government needed to address.

Prince Daniels, 18, who is a sixth form student from the town, said the government had a chance to create a lasting legacy for the younger generation.

"[The government] needs to get their priorities right and focus on things that really matter and invest into things that help the future generation," he explained.

"Once you set a foundation for us - the future - when we come up, it'll be smooth for us to carry on and create a great legacy."

The student added he was concerned about the cost of living crisis.

'Life can be hard'

Hermione said mental health services needed to be looked into

Hermione, 16, is a member of the Suffolk Youth Parliament who work to represent the views of young people.

She believed the biggest issue facing young people was the issue of mental health.

"We want the politicians to listen," she said.

"We need to have more people that can be there for us.

"As a young person we struggle a lot [with our mental health] and there's a lot going on in our lives - we're growing up and life can be hard for everyone.

"We need to make sure we have accessible guidance for everyone."

'Make it easier to survive'

Camillé wants politicians to make it 'easier to survive'

Camillé, 16, who is also a member of the Suffolk Youth Parliament, similarly said there was not enough awareness around mental health in her home county.

She felt young people and their issues in general were not being listened to.

"There's definitely issues around housing and the cost of living crisis," she said.

"Even weekly groceries are racking up to £100."

In her message to politicians, she simply said: "Make it easier to survive in England."

'Can we afford homes?

Grace Pearson hopes to buy a house one day

Grace Pearson is a 21-year-old criminology student at the University of Suffolk and a Youthwatch member.

Youthwatch works with young people to highlight issues they face in health, care and wellbeing services.

"The biggest thing that I'm sure a lot of young people worry about is whether we'll be able to afford a house on our own," she said.

"It would be nice to own a house but it's difficult with housing prices being so high.

"It seems to keep going up and up. Hopefully I'll get there."

'NHS, environment, education'

William has three concerns he wants to government to address

William, 17, said the NHS, environment and education system concerned him.

He urged the government to increase NHS funding to tackle wait times while he also said more incentives were needed to attract new staff.

"On the education side, people have been hit by Covid more than predicted. Especially people younger than me," he continued.

"I know people through Covid who didn't do any work - they were unable to or didn't find the push they got in physical schooling."

'Really scary'

Sky is worried about the economy and the impact it could have on her future

Sky, 17, is in sixth form in Ipswich and said: "The economy is something that I'm concerned about for my future.

"Starting a career is difficult already but then you have the issues of house prices and consumerism, it's just really scary."

She also shared her concerns around mental health, saying providers needed to offer more resources to people struggling.

"Start with education. Start with mental health support early and giving parents resources to help instead of just making it some sort of profit thing," she added.