I’m Gen Z — and this one awful fact makes me despair for my generation

released earlier this week left me feeling deeply disturbed. More than half of Generation Z — people born between 1997 and 2012, for your information – would prefer to see the ruled by a .

I was stunned. It was one of those headlines that you have to read a few times. You don’t believe it at first.

Born in 1997, I am a member of said generation. Saying that I am ashamed of my contemporaries would be an understatement. To borrow a phrase from Sir Geoffrey Cox: what are you playing at?

To even consider advocating for an autocracy would suggest that my generation clearly needs to be reminded of how good we’ve got it. The notion is so ridiculous, it would be easy to laugh off. But, if the concept were not challenged, there is a risk that it would gain traction.

I know the advantages and disadvantages of different systems of government, in the view of most, is a boring subject, and a great many teenagers and 20-somethings are only capable of paying full attention to something for a maximum of five minutes.

This has always been disappointing and irritating to me. But now it seems this has escalated to being downright dangerous.

People very often band around a quote thought to have been said by Winston Churchill: “Democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.”

So much so that it is one of those cliche lines that makes one roll their eyes.

But it is worth delving into as to why this is true, especially when it comes to the UK’s system. There are reasons why our way of doing things is still emulated, at least in part, across the world.

Yes, this has roots back to the British Empire, but it has endured to the present day. Our uncodified constitution has been patched together and altered across many centuries. The Americans like to think that their “experiment” is the greatest, but, as with many things, they’re grossly overestimating themselves.

I have seen the UK’s democratic system in action in person at many levels – district councils, unitary councils, the London Assembly and local and Parliamentary elections. Amid the note taking and interviewing, I have often found myself in awe.

Not just at the whacky candidates that come forward – I had the privilege of speaking with Count Binface at the London mayoral election last year – who, incidentally, serve a valuable satirical purpose.

In this country, everyone’s got their own MP, whom they can contact at will. And below them, there are councillors, often at two regional levels.

Britain’s politics — for good and ill — is personal, and not as distant as similar systems in other western countries, albeit with measures introduced after the awful murder of Sir David Amess.

Scrutiny is also prevalent — as Bills and local policies are examined thoroughly at multiple levels by the people’s representatives. Several stages in the House of Commons are supplemented by experts in the House of Lords, who are, in some cases, more likely to know what they’re talking about than MPs in the other place.

Executive Orders are all well and good, but would you agree that decrees must at least have a second opinion before they’re enacted — unless it’s a proper, full-blown national emergency?

Surely you’d want your elected representatives to have some sort of say, even if a Bill were waved through via a large majority. Legislating can be yawn-inducing for a lot of people, I get it.

But please, can we have a little patience? To get all high brow for a second, Charles baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu was on to something with his separation of powers malarkey. Parliamentary democracy is amazing, and has been fought for, let’s not forget.

We also enjoy the privilege of still having a constitutional monarch. Time and time again, our Royal Family prove themselves to be indispensable, especially as an ear and provider of wisdom for the Prime Minister, and, as the UK’s hard power and influence has waned, on the world stage.

Soft power, another tired phrase, is a thing. Just the other month, got to meet with then President-elect . And it looks as though the leader of the US will be coming to the UK soon, doubtlessly attracted by the prospect of a State Visit.

This complex and multi-layered way of doing things is sometimes frustrating, but untempered power, as the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz this week once again reminded us, is hazardous and can result in horrific tragedies fuelled by unchallenged opinions and outright lies.

Legislative and executive power must stride forward together hand in hand.