Adam, 18, throws in his hat to become next East Riding Councillor

THE LOCAL ELECTIONS are still 10 weeks away and nominations for the poll on Thursday May 5th do not open until next month. But this has not stopped one candidate from giving an early declaration of his intention to stand. Eighteen year old Adam Lonsdale from Hedon hopes to stand for election in the South West Holderness Ward to serve on the East Riding Council.

Some might argue that at 18 Adam is rather young to get involved in politics and lacks experience. However, Adam is already a seasoned campaigner. He has been a member of the East Riding Youth Assembly since year 10 at South Holderness. He has represented young people as a Member of the UK Youth Parliament and whilst there was involved involved in campaigns to secure cheaper travel for young people, to improve mental health services and to make sex and relationships education compulsory for all young people in schools across the UK.

Adam is a National Youth Panel Member of charity Right Here which aims to tackle depression and anxiety amongst teenagers. He campaigned in a by-election in 2008 and managed to meet David Cameron, Bob Geldof and Tony Benn. He has been involved in Local Action Teams, Neighbourhood Action Teams and other groups throughout Holderness including a spell with local waste incinerator campaigners HOTI.

So ‘lack of political experience’ is certainly not a charge to be levelled against this young man. After his national experience and political career to date, Adam says he wants to give something back to his local community.

So why has Adam declared his candidature so early? Adam says he intends to stand as an Independent and needs time to create an in-depth manifesto specific to the local area, rather than a general party political one. In order to do this he wants local residents to give their views on the issues they would like to see changed in the area.

Adam said:

“I want to find out a few things from local residents. Specifically their likes and dislikes of the local area. Being a councillor isn’t just about making change, but also preventing change from happening (e.g car parking fees). I would be interested to know specifically:

* What residents like about the local area
* What residents dislike about the area
* What residents would change about the area”

The HU12 website will be covering Elections 2011 in some detail. But suddenly that election seems a lot more interesting! Expect to hear lots more from Adam Lonsdale.