Does it matter how young or old our politicians are?
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2024
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
He has a point, with Americans set to choose between 81-year-old Joe Biden or 77-year-old Donald Trump in November's presidential election, while here in Europe, France's new prime minister is 34-year-old Gabriel Attal.
On the Sky News Daily, host Niall Paterson explores whether there is a perfect age for our politicians.
He talks to Labour's Harriet Harman, who is the longest-serving woman MP and 'Mother of the House of Commons'. The 73-year-old representative for Camberwell and Peckham has been an MP for more than 40 years.
Niall also speaks to Amy Callaghan, SNP MP for East Dunbartonshire, who was elected in 2019 aged 27.
They discuss what makes a good MP, the challenges women MPs face when elected, and if age in politics is just a number.
Producer: Soila Apparicio
Interviews producer: Melissa Tutesigensi-Charles
Promotion producer: Jada-Kai Meosa John
Editor: Wendy Parker
Transcript
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| 1:06.1 | Is age really nothing but a number? I'm Neil Patterson. Welcome to the Sky News Daily. And look, |
| 1:12.6 | do not worry, I'm not currently experiencing some sort of midlife crisis, but just take a look |
| 1:18.5 | at the situation in the United States. Donald Trump just romped to victory in the Iowa caucus |
| 1:24.5 | at the age of 77, and certainly it looks like he has the Republican nomination |
| 1:29.3 | in the bag, the man he'll most likely face for the presidency, Joe Biden, well, he's 81. |
| 1:35.6 | Compare and contrast with France, where the combined ages of its president and prime minister |
| 1:41.1 | are still less than the age of the current occupant of the White House. |
| 1:46.3 | Here's how former Prime Minister Gordon Brown put it on Sky News Breakfast with Kay Burley. |
| 1:51.1 | I'm a retired politician. |
| 1:52.4 | I'm too old to be a British politician. |
| 1:54.3 | I don't think you're ever retired politicians. |
| 1:55.6 | I'm too young to be an American politician. |
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