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Student sets up website to get the young involved in EU debate

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A former Yavneh College student has launched a political website to engage young people ahead of the EU referendum.

Benji Fisher, who is reading political science at Birmingham University, set up the Just Debate website after he received GPB40,000 in investment from former Apprentice contestant Raj Dhonota.

Mr Fisher, 20, said Just Debate, which he has run from his bedroom since March, would publish articles on current affairs in a simple "note style".

The Belmont United Synagogue member, from Stanmore in north-west London, said the format could then encourage readers to look into key issues and prompt them to exercise their voting rights.

"It's a really bad cycle," he said. "Young people are disengaged. Politicians aren't speaking to young people because they are disengaged. And because politicians aren't speaking to young people, young people are becoming more disengaged.

"Pensioners are very engaged in politics, and politicians are more inclined to make policies to appease them because they know they are going to vote.

Mr Fisher, who has been working on the project for three years, added: "Young people are becoming lazier. They are dependent on technology and less inclined to read long paragraphs online or in newspapers.

"We want them to gain a basic understanding of both sides of an argument."

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