A TEENAGER from Highams Park is bidding to become the youngest ever member of the European Parliament.

Peace-loving Steven Cheung, 19, hopes to use his youth to his advantage by persuading young people to vote for him.

Mr Cheung is standing as a candidate for the London region in the European election on Thursday, June 4.

Mr Cheung is bullish about his chances of winning one of the eight seats up for grabs in the capital.

He is contesting the seat as an independent and has vowed to promote peace, but was vague about specific policies.

He said: "Politics has become tainted with sleaze and political in-fighting that has brought public confidence to an all time low. The general public awaits an open and fresh approach to politics.

"The European elections have traditionally been associated with a low-turn out, but through my candidacy I hope to reinvigorate the public mood and capture the disengaged."

Despite his youth, Mr Cheung has gained experience through a wide range of local and central government bodies.

He was an Olympic ambassador for the council in February 2006 and was later appointed by the Ministry of Justice as a young advisor last year.

He is also a radio presenter on Spectrum International Radio, but he is currently not presenting because of the election.

Mr Cheung has to raise a minimum £5000 deposit as well as woo voters and he believes the hefty deposit deters young people from becoming candidates.

Candidates have to win 2.5 per cent of the vote to keep their deposit.

The teenager from Greenwood Drive said wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a former MP for Woodford Green, and current American President Barack Obama are his political inspirations.

John Bowis OBE, Claude Moraes, Baroness Sarah Ludford, Dr Charles Tannock, Mary Honeyball, Gerard Batten, Syed Kamall, Jean Lambert, and Robert Evans are currently MEPs for the London region.