Taking on the old boys

The average age of a local councillor in the UK is 57.

I was only 22 years old when I stood as a Conservative candidates in the local elections last May.

When the votes were counted, my tally was only 100 lower than the winning candidate.

The sitting Labour councillor, Frank Connor, ended up losing his seat to the Liberal Democrat candidate, and was understandably upset.

But he encouraged me to continue my involvement in politics and local community work. “You were the best candidate Amy,” he said.

So why has a recent Government report found that 59 % of 18-24-year-olds have no interest in politics?

The local papers ran a number of stories on my work within the community, which involved setting up a residents’ association and securing funding to landscape a piece of land for local children.

When I revealed I was going to stand in the local elections, I was confronted with the expected “surely you’re too young for that?” retort.

My campaign leaflets proudly stated my response:

“Soon it will be my generation who are responsible for where and how we live, and I believe working alongside experienced councillors will allow the future council members to flourish.”

I believed my local council would benefit from my energy and new ideas, and I received a lot of support from the older generations, including other politicians.

While canvassing on a rainy, freezing day on a steep hill in Darwen, Lancashire, I was challenged by an older gentleman who abruptly silenced me.

“You’re far too young to know anything about politics,” he said.

As I walked away I heard a shout. Turning back, I saw his wife had come to the door. “Don’t worry love, I’ll be voting for you. You’re just what we need,” she said.

Getting involved in local politics isn’t as hard as many people seem to think. After a spate of incidents with local children causing trouble to the area where I live, I decided to set up a residents’ association. I did this with the aim of encouraging neighbours to talk to each other and to tackle problems collectively. I was surprised at how quickly we began to see the benefits. Acting as an intermediary between residents, councillors and the police, I succeeded in creating a small community that repelled anti-social behaviour and became a close-knit, caring neighbourhood.

After I had organised a clean-up day for a piece of land off one of our streets, the local political groups started to take an interest in me, seeing me as a potential new recruit.

My father had always been involved in the local Conservative Association, having been a councillor himself, and I started going along to the meetings with him.