Mr Rammell a former Minister for Higher Education said: “We will need our students to be engaged, to be political. We will need to hear their voices. Because I do not want this generation of students to be silent and disenfranchised.

“We must take seriously our role to enable and develop their voices, so that they can claim the future they deserve.”

The Vice Chancellor examined the issues behind the decline in youth engagement in politics and pointed to circle of disenchantment.

“Non-democratic participation by young people leads to their views and interests being marginalised and ignored. Why? Because whatever their flaws elected politicians respond to people who vote.

“As an MP I can tell you that as a group we spend endless time discussing the views of the electorate and how to respond to their concerns. Much, much less time is spent discussing those who don't vote.”

He pointed to a general decline in voter turnout in young people aged 18 to 24 in general elections. At the 2010 General Election it was 44%; in 2015 it was 43%. This compared to a general population turnout of more than 60%.

The Vice Chancellor urged students to get involved, citing an ever increasing list of topics which affect young people. This included under 25s being excluded from the national minimum wage, that one in five 16 to 24 year olds were looking for work, and that between 2008 and 2013 young people’s average wage fell by 60p an hour to £6.70 - an 8% drop.

He also explained how under 21s have been excluded from housing benefit and how also under 25s make up a third of the homeless.

“We can see how youth and poverty creates a double disenfranchisement, commented Mr Rammell.

“Young people and the poor are less well represented in political life, and participate less in political life. And the consequence is that policy is made for the benefit of older, wealthier generations.”

The Vice Chancellor did have a way forward, pointing out that in order to reignite young people’s political engagement; we need to look carefully at our political cultures and practices and whether they are fit for purpose.

He explained that universities, students’ union and higher education provision are fundamental to raising the bar on political engagement and civic participation.

Bedfordshire already has a strong base for encouraging political engagement. This includes the option to register to vote during academic registration, its ‘Tell Us Scheme’ which keeps open the lines of communication between students and the university, and the Go Global programme which allows students to experience a radically different culture to their own.

“Political engagement should never be something we take for granted or think of as an add-on. It is fundamental to producing the capable, critical global citizens who are prepared and able to shape the world that they deserve,” said Mr Rammell.

“That is the promise of higher education and it is one that we should never, ever forget.”

• Photos from the event