Jessica, 17, sets out campaign for youth vote

A schoolgirl of 17 is to tell the Tory conference - and a sceptical nation - that they can still win the support of young voters.

London sixth-former Jessica Lever plans to stand up against the "nanny state" on Thursday, becoming one of the youngest speakers to address the Conservative faithful since William Hague.

She told the Evening Standard: "The thing I hate the most is government intervention. There should be minimal state interference in people's lives.

"Teenagers don't like being told what to do by their parents, teachers or the Government, which is why they don't agree with Blair's government.

"But most 14-year-olds stand around complaining when they could be getting up and doing something. They don't make the link between what goes on around them and what politicians do."

With an average party membership age of over 60, the party leadership is enthusiastically backing Jessica's message. "I met Michael Howard at a party and told him I wanted to speak at the conference," said the 17-year-old, who has been given a week off to attend the conference by Watford Grammar School for Girls. "He was really supportive."

For one so young, Jessica is more excited than nervous about her debut on the stage of national politics. "I think my mum [fashion designer Katrina Sedley] is more scared than I am," she said.

However, she comes with a strong political pedigree. Her great-uncle - economist Milton Friedman, whose monetarist theories formed the backbone of Thatcherism - gave her a copy of his book Capitalism and Freedom for her 14th birthday.