YMCA London South West (LSW) wants the next Mayor of London to tackle rising levels of rough sleepers, a lack of housing and low wages.

Young people aged 16 to 24 spent a year working on a manifesto to include the topics they thought were the most important for candidates to take on.

They said they wanted mayoral candidates to create a London living wage for people under 25, invest in alternative models of supporting young homeless people, fund mental health training for the police and create accommodation opportunities on unused land.

The south west London chapter has been operating in Kingston, Elmbridge, Richmond, Merton and Wandsworth for more than 140 years.

Richard James, chief executive of YMCA LSW, said: “Rising costs of accommodation combined with an inequality in wages and lower levels of physical health all mean that vulnerable young people are worse off than almost all other age groups.

“The next London mayor will have the difficult task of overcoming this issue and preventing the capital from losing a generation of young people struggling to contribute and move into mainstream society.”