Brownie leader takes her calls for change to the top at Westminster and urges women to make sure their voice is heard by voting on May 7

Ellie Dibben, 18, joined a host of high-profile female politicians at a special event in the Speaker’s House on Wednesday to champion the issues affecting young women in the UK.

The event was hosted by two of the UK’s leading charities for women and girls - Girlguiding and Women’s Aid.

Together the good causes want to make sure all women’s voices are heard at the ballot box on May 7.

During the last General Election, more than nine million women failed to have their say on how the country is run.

Speakers included MPs Caroline Nokes, Jo Swinson and Seema Malhotra and Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow – and Ellie, from Berkhamsted.

Ellie, who is a leader with the 1st Potten End Brownies, said: “Who runs this country impacts all of us and so voting is key to ensuring that the government make the changes that we want to see.

“I would like to see gender parity in parliament so that women do not remain a silent majority in the UK.”

The teenager is championing the voice of young women through the Girlguiding’s Girls Matter campaign, which is calling on eight key changes to improve girls’ lives.

They are:

>Listen to girls and young women, take them seriously and make sure their voices count

>Demand schools take a zero tolerance approach to sexual bullying and harassment

>Call on all schools to teach body confidence and gender equality

>Make girls’ rights a priority in the UK’s approach to international development

>Stop children’s exposure to harmful sexualised content in mainstream media

>Empower girls and young women to speak out and be heard on the impact of media sexism and stereotyping

>Modernise sex and relationships education so all young people can make informed decisions and stay safe

>Guarantee that women will be equally represented in parliament