Candidates at a Progressive Labour Party rally in Warwick urged a packed hall of mostly older supporters to get their younger family members involved and out to vote.An older demographic of core support turning out for the PLP has been a notable anecdotal trend so far in this election campaign.And the supporters who came out last night were praised for the “blood, sweat and tears” that they have poured into the PLP cause.The atmosphere at St Mary's Church Hall was a warm and positive one last night.Premier Paula Cox was in attendance and she was the recipient of birthday wishes in the form of several renderings of “Happy Birthday Madame Premier”, and a cake trimmed with PLP green icing and hot pink candles was also brought out for the celebration.The candidates for the PLP in Warwick are Sen Jonathan Smith for Warwick West, Lt Col David Burch for Warwick North Central, Lawrence Scott for Warwick South East, Minister Marc Bean for Warwick South Central and MP Dale Butler for Warwick North East.Other PLP MPs at the rally included Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert, former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith, former Premier Alex Scott and Health Minister Zane DeSilva.The event was moderated by Stephen Todd, who is running for the Southampton East Central seat.Minister Bean, who is the MP for Warwick South Central said: “The bell has been rung, Madame Premier. You have a solid, qualified team to represent you. All the candidates, members and supporters we have got your back!”Minister Bean refered to the shooting on Khyber Heights Lane in Warwick last week, and said that his focus for the evening would be “our young people”.“I look in the audience and I see what I consider to be my mother and father,” and said it was “ ... our heritage. And when that is passed down, it is inheritance.”He said if it is not: “The blood, sweat and tears you have experienced will be for nought.”He raised the subject of former PLP candidate Makai Dickerson, who had been canvassing in Devonshire South Central until his resignation this week after an arrest for cannabis possession and when a photograph of the candidate posing with a gang sign was found on Facebook.“Makai Dickerson — I can vouch — he has more quality, and has done more for the community than all of the OBA candidates combined,” said Minister Bean.The former candidate had made mistakes, he said, but: “You learn from your mistakes. When you learn from those experiences you are forgiven.“Makai Dickerson is not going anywhere,” he said. “What he has had to endure through The Royal Gazette and other media ... the first volunteer for the Mirrors programme was Makai Dickerson. I am going to keep Makai Dickerson very close to me.”Mr Todd supported Mr Bean's comments on youth and, gesturing toward the audience, said: “Our youth are our future. I see mothers, father, uncles, aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers. We have to ensure our young people are involved — they need to play a part in the future direction of the country.”Lt Col Burch said: “This is a serious election about serious issues,” and in an often-repeated theme of the evening he took aim at the OBA's relationship with the United Bermuda Party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance.“On Tuesday it was reported that the One Bermuda Alliance's platform would be consistent with the things they have said in the House (of Assembly) in the last year,” he said, adding OBA party's supporters were not prepared to go back further “to the UBP, BDA, OBA ... XBA ...”He said: “We are prepared to be judged on our record from 1998 (when the PLP first took power).”Lt Col Burch also raised the issue of the OBA's position on the Government programme for seniors' insurance.“FutureCare — the OBA has called it everything but a good programme. Everything in the book. But campaigning, they have found that seniors love FutureCare.“So now, history has erased that — and the love affair with FutureCare — it's so new, it could be called puppy love,” he said.The economic downturn was another topic of the evening, with Lt Col Burch said “our people have been hurt by this new normal we have been experiencing”.But Lt Col Burch pointed to the provision of affordable housing so “hard-working Bermudians have the dignity of a roof over their heads, and a piece of the rock”.He added: “It is the PLP that is on the side of the people ... The PLP is not new to lifting people up. It is not new to fighting for the less fortunate. That is how we are. We put people first.”Mr Todd concluded the meeting by again entreating the PLP faithful to encourage young people to become involved in the political process.“Our young people are our future. We need to make sure they are participating. They need to understand the importance of getting out to vote. They need to understand the sacrifices and the ideology.“The only way forward is with the PLP Government,” he said.