THE leader of the Green Party will come to Bournemouth for a student conference later this month.

Natalie Bennett will join Bournemouth MPs Conor Burns and Tobias Ellwood as well as UKIP’s prospective parliamentary candidate David Hughes on a Question Time-style panel on January 30.

The event, dubbed ‘Election 2015: Does Your Vote Count?’, will be held at the University’s Executive Business Centre in Holdenhurst Road from 9am until 3pm.

It is aimed at youngsters aged between 14 and 18 from local schools and colleges as well as the university’s own students.

The conference will also include interactive ‘speed-voting’ workshops, discussions and hands-on media training, in preparation for student coverage of the general election in May.

Themes for the day will include education and tuition fees, plus ‘Should we lower the voting age to 16?’.

Organisers have invited the five local Green Party candidates to attend and there will also be a stall where students can pick up leaflets.

Many of the local party’s members are students at Bournemouth.

Natalie Bennett was elected leader of the Green Party in 2012, replacing Caroline Lucas MP.

She is currently the prospective parliamentary candidate for Holborn and St Pancras.

The Green Party currently have one serving member of Parliament, Caroline Lucas, for Brighton Pavilion.

She was elected as MP in 2010 and served as party leader from 2008 until 2012.

The party also have three MEPs, including Molly Scott Cato who represents the South West.