Politics is complicated. Sometimes deliberately so.
It can feel boring, hostile or impossibly distant from everyday life. It creates arguments where we want unity. It is easier to avoid it, especially when the world as it is already works for you.
But politics does not avoid us.
As I've grown older, I've realised how deeply personal it is. I am a woman, so politics matters to me. I care about equality and how we treat one another, so politics matters to me. I have ambitions for my future and care about the opportunities available to me, so politics matters to me. The cost of a home, the safety of our streets, the quality of our schools, the air we breathe and the opportunities we are given are all shaped, in some way, by political decisions.
And yet, when I became old enough to vote, I didn't feel equipped to make one.
I recognised the parties. I knew the slogans. I had absorbed fragments of what they supposedly stood for, much of it through social media. But I couldn't confidently answer the questions that actually mattered: Who am I voting for? What are they actually proposing? And what would their decisions mean for my life?
That gap is why I started What's It To Me.
What's It To Me is built around a simple idea: politics makes more sense when you can see where you fit into it.
Answer a few questions about yourself and you can explore what different candidates and policies could mean for you, your area and even your neighbour. Because the same political decision can affect two people on the same street very differently. Understanding that doesn't just personalise politics; I hope it broadens our perspective on it too.
What's It To Me will never tell you who deserves your vote. To me, impartiality means giving every candidate the same treatment, showing where information comes from, being honest when information isn't available, and leaving the judgement where it belongs: with you.
I don't want What's It To Me to tell people what to think. I want it to give people a reason to think, the confidence to question, and the information to decide for themselves.
Because politics already affects you.
You should be able to understand how.
Romily JohnsonFounder and Product Lead · student