Illustration by Marcus Butt / Ikon Images The May 2026 local elections look set to be historic for – potentially – unprecedented insurgencies on both left and right, nationalist victories in Scotland and Wales, and perhaps even the fall of Keir Starmer. But they might also be the last elections before 16-year-olds are given the vote. Britain’s youths are emerging as a distinct and desperate element in British politics: only 36 per cent expect to be better off than their parents. In a bid to make sense of their melancholy, and understand how their vote might change national politics, I have spent the last month meeting youth representatives of Britain’s political parties. Labour As Labour’s membership numbers fall nationally, there has been a particular drop in youth memberships. Ellie Sandover, A Labour Youth Officer in Croydon, wishes she had a canon event that made her join Labour. “I wish there was this one light bulb sort of thing.…