First-time voter Anna Combes on the day she met Sir Keir Starmer, Iain Duncan Smith and Andrew Marr while shadowing the Daily Telegraph's Camilla Tominey on Liz Truss' first Prime Minister's Questions
First-time voter Anna Combes, 18, who has spent three days at the Indie on half-term work experience, gets a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Westminster shadowing Daily Telegraph associate editor Camilla Tominey on the day of former Prime Minister Liz Truss' first PMQs...
I am officially an adult. So many new horizons to explore, such as the legal art of drinking, smoking and, of course, the opportunity for legitimate political participation.
I always imagined this moment to be like the house sorting in Harry Potter, where my party chose me and I would heavily invest in its beliefs and practices. However, at this current chapter of UK politics, where the entrance to 10 Downing Street seems to be a revolving door, with PMs entering and exiting like jack-in-the-boxes, I can confirm that being granted the ability to vote definitely doesn’t seem as magical as Harry Potter.
Although it’s undeniably entertaining that the UK seems to have the strong ambition to make it into the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not record book, with how many PMs we can churn out in a matter of minutes, it’s worrying and extremely unappealing to a new generation of voters.
As if the sleazy and snobbish reputation of politicians wasn’t enough to discourage young people from politics, we now have to navigate a divided Government as well as a cost-of-living crisis, conveniently placed as we all apply for university.
It may seem an obvious choice to back the Opposition, especially as a young person, but in all truth they don’t seem that promising either. How can one really back Labour when their political stance seems to constantly be in limbo, with Corbyn and Starmer moving the party in opposite directions?
Unfortunately, there wouldn’t be much use in voting for a minority party due to the established dual-party system, and since I’ve waited 18 years for a vote, I won’t waste it.
I feel as if I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it’s extremely uncomfortable and unpleasant. It’s not as if I can cure my confusion and dismay by poring over various newspapers as they all have their own agenda and are intent on turning me against one another to the extent where I feel like James Bond, unable to trust anyone or their information; the constant toing and froing between their arguments is enough to make one feel like a rag doll (pun very much intended).
My interest in entering the journalism profession resulted in a correspondence with the associate editor of The Daily Telegraph, Camilla Tominey, who very kindly agreed to allow me to shadow her on the day of Liz Truss’ first Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs).
On my train journey to London, my mind presented me with all manner of questions, such as whether this would highlight journalism to be the career for me, if the politicians would live up to their reputation of being pompous and detached, and how palatable the food would be at Portcullis House, the building in Westminster that provides offices for 213 MPs and their staff (the answer to the last one is 'very palatable indeed').
On introduction to Camilla, I instantly found the backstabbing and ruthless stigma around journalists to be false, which was a relief to say the least.
I was lucky enough to be present for the recording of BBC Radio 4's Woman’s Hour and BBC Two's Politics Live in the beautiful Portland Place, home to BBC Broadcasting House, where I was casually approached by ex-Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith.
I was surprised to be treated as if I was one of his friends and found myself feeling extremely relaxed in his company. As we walked away from IDS, Camilla offhandedly mentioned that he’s a member of the men's parliamentary football team, a piece of information that I found to be thoroughly entertaining as my mind was flooded with images of a triumphant IDS scoring a blinder against a cowering Matt Hancock. This confirmed my gradual realisation that politicians are a lot more relatable and likeable than most would believe.
After watching PMQs from Portland Place, we made our way to Portcullis House, discussing how much we enjoyed the change from Boris Johnson as Truss demonstrated a rare ability among politicians to directly answer a question, at one point responding to the Opposition with a short and sweet “yes.”
My first impression of Portcullis House was of pure wonderment. The architecture creates the impression that you are entering a section of the Eden Project, with a ceiling composed of windows and beams with rows of trees along the middle of the canteen. It was so beautiful, I shortly pondered a career as an MP just for the access to the building.
Inside was a political pick 'n' mix with MPs from all parties congregating to discuss the performance of Truss, the atmosphere reminding me of a classroom that had just been gifted with a new snippet of gossip.
I was suddenly faced with journalist and broadcaster Andrew Marr, who introduced himself as an “old git”, which was extremely unexpected as this colloquial front was drastically different from what I’d seen in his no-nonsense interviews.
Before too long, I was discussing the day’s events with Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer, who said that PMQs against Truss was “very different compared to Johnson”.
Rushing to the House of Commons to see Rishi Sunak reading out a finance Bill, we bumped into Matt Hancock, whilst catching a glimpse of Liz Truss, which made me feel as if I was playing parliamentary bingo.
As a result of sending a few emails, I was able to meet a handful of the people that run this country, all of whom were friendly, funny and very much human, not the untouchable and unrelatable robots they’re painted to be.
Although it’s easier to write off politics as this bleak component of life that seems distant from most of society, especially teenagers, this experience allowed me to feel legitimately connected to the political organisation of this country in such a way that although I have not yet found my footing on this vast, rocky landscape, I know that I want to be a part of it.
* Anna Combes, 18, who lives on the Bishop's Gate estate in Stortford with parents Richard and Tessa, and 14-year-old twin siblings Tom and Sylvie, is in her last year at Herts & Essex High School, studying for A-levels in politics and government, psychology and English language. After school she hopes to become a journalist.