What do a monkey, a former policeman and a teenager have in comon? They have all been elected mayor. Lucia Charnock speaks to the country's first Young Mayor.

THINK of a teenager involved in politics, and a vision of a young William Hague is likely to spring to mind. Wearing his best middle-aged man's jacket, the future Tory leader was cheered to the echoes for lecturing his party conference, watched by a benign Margaret Thatcher, in the late 1970s.

The MP for Richmond may have been feted at the time, but later had cause to regret his first appearance in the political spotlight - as well as his admission that his adolescent evenings were spent reading parliamentary bible Hansard, instead of engaging in less wholesome pursuits. Even baseball caps and rollercoaster rides were not enough to convince the voters that here was no geek.

But Adam Gallagher is a far cry from young Mr Hague. He may have been elected as the country's first Young Mayor, but he prefers a denim jacket and T-shirt to tweeds and a tie.

And his arrival in Middlesbrough Town Hall has coincided with a bit of a transformation in the corridors of power. Alongside the men in suits, there are now an increasing number of teenagers clad in designer labels, as well as their school uniforms.

Middlesbrough Council has become the first in the country to invite its young people to vote for a mayor of their own - someone their own age, who may be more likely to know what they want.

The authority is already aware of the importance of young people to its future - it helped to set up the Middlesbrough Youth Parliament, which has a representative from most of the town's schools and uses the Town Hall as a base for helping to improve life for the town's youngsters.

The young mayoral election was more than just an exercise in getting young people involved in decision making and democracy and is part of a long-term strategy designed to raise interest in local government among tomorrow's voters.

The election, promoted through the town's secondary schools, produced a turnout of 32 per cent - testament to the support of young people for the idea. The much-hyped adult election, won by former policeman Ray Mallon, saw a return of just 11 per cent more.

The winner was 15-year-old Adam, a pupil at the town's Newlands School, who is now faced with handling a budget of £30,000. He is supported by a team of advisors employed by the council, whose job it is to help turn his manifesto promises to young people into reality.

In his manifesto, Adam promised to have a "pub" serving non-alcoholic drinks and a place that would be open all hours and run by the young for the young in an attempt to keep youngsters from just hanging around street corners.

One advisor tells him he will need to decide whether it should be in the town centre or in one of the suburbs. Another reminds him that it needs to be somewhere that has good bus links.

"Well that rules out half of Middlesbrough," Adam responds flippantly, but truthfully.

And on day one, he has already been forced to accept that the pub will probably not be up and running by the time the elections are held again next year. It is something that is already out of his control - his hands are tied simply by the painfully slow process of getting things through a bureaucratic system.

But Adam is not deterred. His other main policy is to have a regular newsletter for the young people. One of his "team" is the council's press officer and meetings are being set up to see how the newsletter can be produced.

On top of that, Adam is getting a laptop computer so he and his team can keep in contact by e-mail and so his diary can be arranged - he will have the say on what events he goes to and what he doesn't, but the intention is for him to attend some of the main council's meetings.

But more importantly, the council does not want his mayoral duties to get in the way of his school work. He sits his GCSEs next year and wants to go to college. His school is supporting him and some teachers have offered extra lessons to help out.

Adam has wanted to be a policeman from the age of three, but admits he is wavering on that now he has had a taste of politics. Like his adult counterpart, Mayor Mallon, Adam intends to have a cabinet made up of members of the youth parliament with their own portfolios of areas of responsibility. This is where Adam, like Mr Mallon, will be held accountable for his decisions and his policies.

As he confidently explains to the youth parliament why he wants the cabinet, there are nods of support from the teenagers around the table.

Adam is not an arrogant young man, but he has an air of realistic confidence, both in the job and his ability to do it. True to political form, he believes it was his manifesto that got him elected rather than his personality.

"I wasn't confident to start with but I am getting more confidence now. I had to stand in front of the school and talk to them, so I am getting used to it," he says.

"It is a lot of money, but it will never be enough for things like the pub. We need to look at other areas of funding. I just really like the idea of helping youth and getting things that they want. I see it as a chance to develop my confidence, make new friends, learn more about Middlesbrough and help get things done for the young people. I have lived here all my life."

The most famous ex-policeman in the country may be heading the authority but he would do well to cast a glance over his shoulder at how his younger counterpart is managing his role. And maybe councillors in every town hall would do well to take a peek at the way Middlesbrough Youth Parliament handles itself - with a lack of egos, petty politics and dummy spitting. Maybe it's never too early to enter politics.