'MPs look like grandparents using mobiles for first time'

Mainstream politicians are failing to get their message across to young people, students have told BBC Politics East.

The BBC talked to the voters of the future in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, as opinion polls suggest more young people are turning to the less mainstream parties, such as the Green Party and Reform UK.

Parliament has begun debating the legislation which will give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in UK elections.

Among many young people there has been a lot of excitement over the election of Hannah Spencer as the Green Party's new MP for Gorton and Denton.

She has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and her acceptance speech was widely shared.

Laura Beveridge, a producer and podcaster for PoliticsJoe, which shares content on YouTube, said "young people just want change".

"They feel that neither of the two traditional parties in British politics are speaking to them," she said.

The Representation of the People Bill should become law in time for the next general election, expected in 2029, and it will add around one and a half million potential voters to the electoral register.

It is worth noting that fewer than half of 18 to 24-year-olds voted at the last general election.

How much difference will this new electorate make to the outcome or to parties' future policies?

And what do 16 and 17-year-olds at Abbeygate Sixth Form College think about the world of politics?

Iona said Spencer's by-election victory for the Greens "was very relatable, especially for a lot of young people".

Spencer, said Iona, seemed to understand "the problems that are facing young people".

"It's very difficult even to find a small, part-time job," she added.

"My generation is facing many problems in the jobs market after education. I am very concerned.

"Competing to get a job just seems harder and harder."

Jasper said: "We see all the politicians reducing taxes for old people - they are the richest generation in the UK.

"The centrist parties are only aiming for the over-65s' vote. It's our fault because we don't turn out to vote."

He said he has not been impressed by Labour and Tory politicians.

"You look at the videos they are producing. It's just not what you want to see from people who are meant to be representing you," he said.

"They look like your grandparents using a [mobile] phone for the first time."

Eve said young people were angry that "hard work doesn't seem to get you very far".

"No matter what you do you're going to spend a lot of money, especially if you go to university, and you will be in debt for ever," she said.

Eve said the big issues facing young people were artificial intelligence and social media.

"With more and more information it is becoming more and more difficult to tell what is real and what is not," she said.

"Information sources are becoming more unreliable."

Will said: "I think parties like Reform and the Greens use pessimism to their advantage.

"I think they overdo it in a way, and it is quite patronising to young people trying to worry people about university debt."

He adds: "Politics scare me a little at the moment. The way we seem to be heading to more and more divisions."

Beatrice said young people were having a difficult time getting a job.

"I think there are struggles. They don't explain how hard it is to get a job," she said.

"I applied to over 50 different businesses and have only just been successful. That's taken me a very long time."

She said political parties should focus on jobs and universities.

Mac told BBC Politics East: "My mum was 16 when she left school and got a job immediately, and at the age of 18 was able to put a deposit down for a house.

"That is not something I'll realistically be able to do, nor my children I imagine, ever."

BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday 8 March at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer.

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