Sixteen-year-old Adam Jogee, who jokingly claims to have taken his first foray into politics before he could even walk, is one of three members of the UK Youth Parliament from Haringey.

He was pictured just seven months, sitting on the lap of former Hornsey and Wood Green MP Barbara Roche, the Crouch End schoolboy is now setting his sights on a different seat — the green leather benches of the House of Commons.

In a coffee shop in Muswell Hill, Adam holds court and talks animatedly with an old teacher.

After she leaves, he admits that he often cannot take two steps in Haringey without bumping into someone he knows. The co-leader of Haringey Youth Council, who recently returned from a summer spent in the Bahamas, is still reeling from meeting his hero Nelson Mandela earlier this year, and celebrating achieving As and Bs in his GCSEs.

Adam has won a scholarship to the independent Highgate School, in North Road, where he plans to take A-levels in politics, history, philosophy and economics.

Putting down his mug of hot chocolate and smiling, Adam says: “People often group Barack Obama, Tottenham MP David Lammy and myself in the same category. I’m sure either would be absolutely flattered to be compared with me.”

Last summer the teenager helped with Hillary Clinton’s Demo-cratic campaign during an exchange programme in New York City. Today, there is a badge of presidential candidate Barack Obama on his bag.

He says: “America needs a Democrat. I thought Hillary would be the more viable option, but obviously things haven’t worked out that way.”

As a member of the youth parliament, Adam works alongside other young people to create opportunities for them to get involved in the democratic process at a national level — a subject which he is passionate about.

He has been campaigning with Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone to have the voting age lowered from 18 to 16.

“I think it is our democratic right to be able to vote,” he says. “At 16, we can legally get married, have sex and hold down a job. But the crucial thing for me, is that if you are old enough to pay taxes, you absolutely should have a say in how that money is spent.”

Adam recalls how he lost his first election to a student council, when he was in Year 2. “I thought it was just a case of going around and saying, ‘Vote for me’. Now I’ve learned that, like anything, you’ve got to try really hard and let people know what you are about.”

Despite not affiliating himself with any party, Adam describes his political views as “centre left” and adds: “Working on the youth parliament I meet a lot of young people who, like me, plan to pursue a career in politics.

“I speak with them and they say the most outrageously ignorant things and the scary thing is they are the ones who could end up making the big decisions that affect lives.

“They don’t represent the average person, but the privileged few.

“If I were ever lucky enough to represent Haringey, I would want to be remembered as someone who really listened to people and made a difference,” he explains.

“If you are going to do something, you want to be the best. So watch out Lynne or David, in a few years I could be taking either of your seats.”

Read Adam's blog.