Meet five of the youngest election candidates

Here are five of the youngest candidates running in the general election that will take place next month. They are all under 30 and keen to make a difference. Pedro Da Conceicao took his last A-Level test last Thursday, but instead of celebrating with pals, he returned to the campaign route. Pedro, an independent candidate in west London, is believed to be the youngest person participating in this year’s election at the age of 18. He had considered a career in politics, but he didn’t decide to compete for an MP until the end of May, when the general election was announced.
“My mum thought I was joking when I first told her,” he recounts.
Pedro, who was born in Portugal and immigrated to the UK with his mother when he was a baby, claims that his motivation to run for office came from the underrepresentation of youth in the legislature.
He attributes his political influences to his mother, an NHS nurse. “I saw my mum come to the UK as an immigrant and work really, really hard,” he recounts. “I saw first hand the benefit of immigrants and how they could help our economy.”

Pedro also favours increased funding for public services and initiatives to combat knife violence.
He has witnessed several of his peers turn to gangs and drugs in an attempt to support their family financially. However, he claims that a lot of politicians are disconnected from reality.
“How do you expect people who are much older or who received their education privately to solve a problem that they cannot relate to?” It’s been difficult to run as an independent without support from a team or money.
He raised the £500 required to run for office through a Crowdfunder and used his part-time restaurant job wages to cover the deposit (which is refunded if a candidate receives 5% of the total votes cast).
He admits it’s unlikely that he will win the safe Labour seat of Ealing Southall.
“But hopefully I can inspire more young people to get involved in politics.”

For the past 45 years, MPs have been averaging 50 years old.
Though “there’s always been young candidates,” political commentator Michael Crick notes that more could be elected this time.
He names several Labour candidates in their twenties who are vying for seats that could be won. And if the present polls are correct, he adds, there may be a significant change in MPs, including many new faces from Labour.

Martha O’Neil, a labour candidate, wants to be one of those new faces. The 26-year-old is the new representative for Wales.
After her father passed away when she was ten years old, Martha was reared by her mother in the former mining town of Ammanford.
Her interest in politics was sparked by her family’s need on government assistance. After purchasing the textbooks she required to get ready for college with her education maintenance grant, Martha was awarded a Cambridge scholarship and went on to work for the government. She feels that youth can provide a distinct viewpoint to politics, and she intends to do so in Cefradin.

Luke Allan Holmes, the Conservative candidate, concurs.
The 21-year-old claims that although the majority of voters are “pleasantly surprised” to see someone his age running for office, some have questioned whether he has enough life experience to be a member of parliament on social media.
“I didn’t go to university,” declares Luke, whose prior employment included working for HMRC and staffing the checkout lanes at his neighbourhood Tesco. “People need to realise that actually some young people have gone through a lot in life and have a lot to offer.” Luke, who grew up in County Durham, claims that Labour officials “took the area for granted.”
His secondary school was deemed insufficient, and because to inadequate public transit, he was forced to relocate closer to Durham in order to attend college.
“I saw those challenges firsthand,” he claims, “and that’s what drove me to want to do something about it.”
His interest in politics was piqued by the Conservatives’ victory in a number of previous Labour strongholds in the north of England in the 2019 general election, notably Bishop Auckland, which is close. Luke acknowledges that despite this, he had doubts about being able to run for office as an MP in Durham. He claims that since taking office as a council member in 2021, he has encountered hostility both in person and online. “I’ve had people ringing me up in the middle of the night,” he continues. Alternatively, I may have harsh remarks said to me by strangers on the street. For that reason, I want to stand, as we need to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

Rebecca Jones is a recent political science graduate and a candidate for the Liberal Democrats. She claims that a lot of politicians don’t get the issues that young people like her face.
In order to pay her rent, she worked a part-time job in a movie theatre in addition to her studies. She claims that over 60% of her pay, now that she works full-time, goes towards housing.
The 21-year-old is in favour of measures against exorbitant rent and the reinstatement of maintenance funds to assist students in covering living expenses.
She was just 13 when the UK decided to leave the EU, but her interest in politics was sparked by how Brexit affected young people.
She joined the Liberal Democrats at the age of 16, and she distributed party flyers during the 2019 general election.
She stood for local council in London in 2022 and in her home state of Devon the following year.
Despite being “gutted” to learn that she was just 18 votes away from winning the election, she was resolved to compete again, this time for the position of MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington. Rebecca understands the abuse that comes with being in the public glare as a trans woman. Nonetheless, she finds solace in the backing of fellow youth, especially those within the LGBT community. “It’s worth every single bit, no matter how many votes I receive—10, 10,000, or more—just knowing that I helped someone become more engaged in the democratic process.”

Ross Clark, a local politician, has also faced internet harassment and been undervalued due to his age. When he was elected two years ago, while pursuing his studies in sports coaching at university, he was the youngest member of the South Lanarkshire Council, standing at 21. “You feel you need to prove yourself a bit more to be taken seriously,” Ross stated. “Sometimes when I walk in the council building people think I’m an intern.”

Currently 23 years old, he is a candidate for the Scottish National Party in the seat where he was born and raised.
Though he was too young to vote, he was “raging” during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, which sparked his initial interest in politics. However, he chose to run for parliament after witnessing the impact that politicians might have on people’s lives while serving as a councillor. If Ross prevails in Hamilton and Clyde Valley, he is well aware of the difficulties that may arise.
He refers to Mhairi Black of the SNP, who was elected in 2015 at the age of 20, making her the youngest Member of Parliament in 300 years. Mhairi Black is stepping down in this election. She attributed the choice to harassment on social media and the “toxic” work atmosphere at Westminster.

Ross is still committed to giving it his all in spite of this.
“[Young people] aren’t just our future, they’re also our present, and they need to be involved in that decision-making process.”