William Hague was only 16 when he burst onto the political scene with his famous conference speech. But even the future Tory party leader would seem like a veritable grandfather compared to those in youth politics these days. For now the Liberal Democrats have given the green light to a 12-year-old to run in their party’s annual youth wing elections currently being held this month.
The political neophyte in question is Aneirin Keysell, a schoolboy from Richmond-upon-Thames running to fill the post of non-portfolio officer. His self-effacing manifesto notes that:
I don’t have any real qualifications but I am very well versed into the world of current affairs and I am aware of what goes on in the United Kingdom and know other political events happening elsewhere in Europe and North America.
He continues modestly:
I have no firm on any matter of policy and will base my decisions on the majority of members’ explaining that ‘I get my motivation to run for this position is because I believe in Liberalism…I believe the Liberal Democrats have somewhat disconnected from the young people that we lost in 2015 that voted for the Liberal Democrats’ – an event that happened when he was just six years old.
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