Politicians patronise teenagers like me – then offer us nothing

It was October 2022, and I was just 12 years old, watching TV with my family, when Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned.

That came just three months after another Prime Minister – Boris Johnson – had quit. 

‘Partygate’ and ‘Disastrous mini-budget’ were confusing terms for a pre-teen, but one thing was clear even to a child: Downing Street was in shambles.

Now I wonder how hundreds of thousands of other children across the country are meant to feel four years down the line when asked to place their trust in this ridiculous system. 

It’s difficult to relish the prospect of voting, when it feels like you’re merely painting a new face onto failure.

Now, aged 16, I feel more disillusioned than ever after seeing what happened today as Keir Starmer announced he would be stepping down. 

No one has really earned my vote.

In 2024, there was so much hope surrounding Labour. They were elected on a mandate of promising ‘change’ to the 14 years of Conservative rule that had brought about the mismanaged Brexit referendum and political instability. 

Today, Labour MPs have turned on Sir Keir Starmer – a man who was hailed as a hero just two years ago. 

I watched as his voice broke during his resignation speech and it made me wonder how Andy Burnham’s stint will end.

It’s not just that these politicians have gone back on multiple promises: it’s that they’re unwilling to own it – at no point did Starmer acknowledge the mistakes he’s made. 

The Conservative government dominated our political childhood. We watched wide-eyed as they fell, fell, and fell again. Many of us feel that it is too soon to trust them again.  

This said, it is so much easier to criticise the incumbent party than to be the incumbent party. And so the Green Party and Reform hold the desirable position of being able to take the ‘if only I were in charge’ stance against Labour and the Conservatives, respectively.

However, this doesn’t mean they’ll be any good in charge. 

I have a practical objection to the Greens and a moral one to Reform. 

The Greens are estimated to want to increase spending by £250 billion per year, but only increase tax receipts by £170 billion. Their proposed avenues for taxation (wealth and asset taxes as well as capital gains tax) are unsustainable because, in my view and that of many experts, drive the rich away. 

Despite this, the Greens should be praised for reaching out to the youth through promising increased political education programmes and mental health support in schools – whilst also running the largest youth political wing in the UK.

But their policies sound like a recipe for national disaster, and they are inexperienced with political power. 

Reform UK’s list of controversies simply reads like a movie-credit style list of the racism and misogyny from their members. And of course, their plans to tax green energy and pivot to oil reserves lack consideration for the future that my generation will have to weather.

It’s difficult to get yourself to vote for a party when your voice is ignored.

We all have that radical uncle or grandparent who sits at the dinner table sparking debate with their out-there political takes. When a teenager tries to engage in political speak, the reaction ranges from ‘how adorable’ to ‘how naive’, to none at all. 

In any other field, the young can be just as successful as the old– especially since many of us are more technologically and globally literate.

The problem is the irrational assumption that every time you age a year, you earn some political wisdom. 

And politicians reflect this bias. 

Yes, they’re very keen to outline all the ways they listen to and respond to young people. But when they actually reach power, the same young people are simply forgotten.

Labour ditched their pledge to abolish university tuition fees shortly before entering Downing Street because, it seems like, they only cared about us when they felt they needed us to win.

We all remember Starmer’s attempt at proving he was ‘one of us’ with a painfully cringeworthy attempt at a 6-7 joke. 

He doesn’t feel authentic because he misunderstands us. Politicians need to realise that if something isn’t funny to them, it probably isn’t funny for us. 

It is significantly harder to fix deep-rooted political issues but several things can be done to restore our trust in the system. 

First, introduce quotas for young MPs (21 or under) who currently make up 0% of the House of Commons.

We want more authentic and digitally native politicians. I don’t agree with Zack Polanski’s policies, but at least he makes me feel understood. 

And on broken promises, a new law should be passed where political candidates should designate promises made during elections as ‘binding’, and if they were broken, a new election would be triggered.

The immediate implication of this would deter false promises. 

It would mean that the policies politicians truly intended to deliver would be clear and true.

Next month, Parliament will debate a bill to allow 16-year-olds to vote. 

But until other measures are introduced and a culture shift occurs, my stance is very clear.

My ballot would be empty. 

Today, I watched as Labour’s champion in 2024 stepped down after two long and confusing years. 

I’ve changed from that boy four years back, but Downing Street hasn’t.

It’s still in shambles. And just like Sir Keir, I feel resigned. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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