As May 6th approaches, news channels and papers have been buzzing over the topic of the future Mayor of London, but unlike most years where this election has been predominantly intriguing for the older generations this year the YouTube sensation Niko Omilana has managed to attract millions of young people into the topic that is politics. His success rate of being in the top five most favored parties in this election, not only shows how much of impact his viewers have but it also shows how loud the voice of the young generation is.

Niko Omilana, a 23-year-old UK Youtuber, has a humungous net following boasting around 3.6 million subscribers on YouTube. He is also commonly known for being the leader of the NDL, a part of a YouTube group called the Beta Squad, and is associated with other famous Youtubers like the Sidemen and KSI. Niko’s comedy style videos that rose him to fame are viewed by millions, his viewing demographic being the young generation. When he mentioned his interest in the Mayor of London election, Niko managed to make the youth take a more hands on approach with this election.

Although his application has not been taken seriously, Niko becoming Mayor of London would be a terrific example to the power the young generation have and the voice that needs to be respected. When stating his goals in his pitch to be Mayor he stated; “Should I be London Mayor? What a stupid question of course I should. The system is broken for young people and I’m the only man who can fix it. We aren’t taken serious and it makes me sick.” The chances Niko has to win are quite slim but that is not what matters. His involvement in politics has allowed for so many more young people registering to vote and young people in London realising that politics is deciding vital pieces of their future and how we should be more in tune and wary about the topics going on around us.

The profound impact that Niko has made has to be acknowledged and regardless of the result of the election, Niko has managed to make major parties turn heads – that in itself is victory for the NDL and the young generation.

Written by Priyadarsine Suthan, Woodford County High School