But should there be an age limit on politicians, if democracy is to function in a modern world? This was the question posed by Ian Birrell in the INews in regards to the US elections. “America is not past our prime – it’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” said the Republican Nikki Haley, 51, when she launched her candidacy for president.
As the US and Britain have a 'Special Relationship', it's also worth giving some attention to the House of Commons Library, where 'the average age of an MP has consistently remained around 50-years-old since 1979.' As author Christopher Watson further illustrates, 'the average age (of an MP) after the 2019 General Election was 51.'
More recently, Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates took the chance to ask Johnny Mercer MP what he made of Selby’s new MP Keir Mather. The ‘baby of the House’ is just 25 years old and is now the first MP born during the Blair government. ‘We don’t want parliament to become like the Inbetweeners‘ Mercer claimed, pointing out that Mather had spent more time at Oxford University than in subsequent employment.
Even the Trade Union Congress has illustrated that among union members, 'less than one in twenty are 16 to 24. Almost 40% of current union members are aged 50 or older.' And 'at the moment the trade union movement is not recruiting enough younger members to replace the ones we will lose through retirement over the next 10 to 15 years.'
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