Becoming 18 has its perks - newly found freedom, the excitement of leaving home for the first time to go to uni, and finally having a say on how the UK is governed.

At T-minus one week until people flock to the polling stations to have their say in the 2024 General Election, Hull Live went down to St Mary's College to speak to Law and Politics second year students who will be casting their first-ever vote on July 4.

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Talking about the key issues as a student ahead of the General Election, Emma talked about protecting her future in further education. "I'm just mainly looking at my future, going off to uni. I want to be able to feel comfortable with how I'm living, how I'm buying food and just surviving by myself. I also want to feel confident in getting on the property ladder even after uni, and at the minute it's looking kind of scary so things need to change."

Rhys comes under the Beverley and Holderness constituency and wants more focus on those who live rurally. "That's a huge issue - which party can sustain and support farmers." Originally from London, Rhys also wants to see more attention on safety in the street tackling knife crime and antisocial behaviour.

First-time voters and second-year students at St. Mary's College Genevieve, Amber, Emma, Lennie and Rhys [L-R] talk about the General Election
First-time voters and second-year students at St. Mary's College Genevieve, Amber, Emma, Lennie and Rhys [L-R] talk about the General Election

Lennie said that being a student, tuition fees are a concern, but he also wants to see more about immigration. "[immigration] being much higher than it has previously has been, there is definitely concern about that. As we can see with the Reform Party currently doing quite well, there is a large consensus that there needs to be some sort of control.

"I think also, it's not being talked about as much, but in the position I'm in as a student I'm inclined to be concerned about things like tuition fees and maintenance payments. The Liberal Democrats mentioned it, but I don't think its worth trusting after the 2010 fiasco."

In 2010, a huge part of the Liberal Democrats' pledge was to avoid any rise in tuition fees - a pledge that was broken.

When talking about the main political leaders, here's what the teens had to say.

Rhys said on the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: "I don't think he has that aura to him. I rated him as Chancellor of the Exchequer, I think he did a really good job, but seeing him through these debates, you can just see he's quite tired."

Emma said: "He has let us down, and he's just so out of touch with the majority of the public which shouldn't be that obvious If you're Prime Minister.

"I think he's the lesser of two evils," Amber said about Sir Keir Starmer. "I don't really love either of them, but at the end of the day you have to make a choice," Genevieve adds.