Youngest councillor ever is elected

2:52pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

Comments (1)   Have your say »

STUDENT Sam Hurst is getting to grips with being elected as the borough's youngest-ever councillor at the age of 20.

His victory in Radcliffe East helped the Conservatives gain the three extra seats they needed to win control of Bury Council.

As a result of last week's local elections, the Tories now have overall control with 26 councillors. Labour has 16 seats and Liberal Democrats have nine.

Fresh-faced Sam became one of the youngest councillors in the country with a 477-vote majority, winning the seat vacated by retiring Labour councillor Lindsey Baucutt.

The age limit for people wishing to stand as councillors was reduced from 21 to 18 in 2007, making this only the second year under 21-year-olds have been eligible.

Radcliffe West councillor Tony Isherwood previously held the record as the youngest person to be elected in the borough, winning his seat in May, 1985, at the age of 22.

Sam, of Coleridge Avenue, Radcliffe, said: "I am very proud and it's a privilege to be the youngest ever councillor in Bury. It puts me in a great place to interest other young people in politics.

"Hopefully I can inspire young people to get involved with their communities. It isn't my job to get 12-year-olds to join political parties, but it is to make them look at the council in a different way.

"Becoming a councillor isn't something that a typical 20-year-old student wants to do, but I don't think that age should be a barrier."

A former pupil of Cams Lane Primary School and Coney Green High School, Sam became interested in politics as a teenager, when he wanted to know how to improve the area.

Despite becoming a councillor at such a young age, he says he does not yet know if his future lies in politics.

He said: "Politics isn't a career for me, it's an interest. I am not ruling out looking at politics on a major scale in the future to change the country, as well as the community. Right now though, I am concentrating on my education and my work as a councillor in Radcliffe East."

Sam is currently in the last month of an environmental geography degree at Salford University.

He hopes to progress to a post-graduate degree in transport engineering and will study alongside his new role as a councillor.

He said: "Most of my council work will be in the evenings and I will work towards my degree during the day. It will be a lot to do, but I think I can balance it all.

"Politically-speaking, my friends at university are all on the left, but they are still very happy for me. My professor sent me an email to say congratulations. It's great for them to see my development."

Sam is now planning how to make a positive impact on people living in his ward over the next four years.

He said: "It is absolutely unprecedented the way that people in Radcliffe East have voted this year. I feel that I must honour them by fulfilling the promises and pledges that I made.

"I want to divert more Bury funding to Radcliffe and get a better deal for the people that live here. I will also send off our petition to have the canal cleaned up."

Sam hopes to become a member of the children and young people scrutiny commission to help youngsters living in the borough.

He said: "I am committed to youth clubs and getting people involved in these things. The problem with young people today is that there is absolutely nothing for them to do. It is the job of the council to help young people. I will be supporting youth clubs in Radcliffe, including scouts, guides, etc."

And Sam thanked his fellow ward councillor and "young people's champion" Catherine Berry for her help in his election campaign.

"I don't think I could have done it without her. Catherine's hard work and altruism have been inspiring. She works very hard and she showed me how to be a good councillor," he said.