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Alex Puffette Tunbridge Wells Conservatives
Wednesday August 30 | 2023
Alex Puffette was the Conservative candidate for St John’s in May’s local election. He was the youngest candidate across Tunbridge Wells and is the Chairman of the Tunbridge Wells Young Conservatives. He has recently finished his first year studying PPE at the University of York.
Local politics needs to attract more young people ON May 4, I had the privilege of standing for the first time in an election, as the youngest candidate across all of Tunbridge Wells, aged 19. One of my reasons for doing so was simply that we desperately need more young people involved in our local politics. The Local Government Association estimates that nationally, 16 per cent of local councillors are under 45, with the average age of a councillor being 60 years old. Considering that local councils are responsible for areas including approving planning for new affordable housing, impacting if my generation can get on the housing ladder, it seems obvious to me that young people need a seat at the Council table. I’m pleased to see the progress that some parties across Tunbridge Wells, including my own, have made in standing some young candidates in our local elections, but there is so much more that we can do. Local politics can be a toxic and often downright abusive place. Those who put themselves forward are often shouted down by individuals on social media who aren’t interested in a proper debate. At the same
time, young people are regularly dismissed as having no ‘real world’ experience, which then supposedly immediately rules them out of holding local office. How can we expect to convince more young people to give up their time to represent their communities if all that awaits them is an onslaught of abuse? In my mind, it is clear we need to change our approach.
Challenges We need to recognise that there are areas of debate in our local politics that young people are undoubtedly more knowledgeable about. Who better understands the need for higher quality local sports facilities and greater levels of affordable housing than those most affected? Not only that, but the young themselves know the significant challenges that those from their own generation face, particularly online. To dismiss the young as lacking the experience to represent people, to me is denying our young the right to be listened to. People my age are certainly not
uninterested in politics. If you speak to any young person about issues like the environment, mental health or how young women often don’t feel safe when walking our streets at night, you truly get to see that young people do care about the policies that are implemented both in our town and nationally. However, this interest in important issues has generally not translated into more young people putting themselves forward for public office. In my view, that is a major problem. My plea is that we do more to engage young people in Tunbridge Wells in our local politics. This rests in the hands of every person who plays a role in politics locally. If young people don’t get the
opportunity to get involved, they may find that decisions are made that are not beneficial to them. I hope I speak for all the parties in Tunbridge Wells (I certainly speak for the Conservative Party) when I say that our local politics would be far stronger if more young people were engaged. We need to get to a point where our local council represents all the people of our town, not just a sliver of them. A local council that can tap into the knowledge and experience of councillors of all ages and backgrounds. I have my own views on what my party should be doing nationally to attract more young people and will fight to ensure we do just that, but fundamentally, it is about listening to the voices of those that we will hand our community to in the years to come. I am always happy to speak to fellow young people about how they can get involved in politics, from whatever party they are aligned with, or whatever political viewpoint they have. All my contact details are available on my website at: alexpuffette.com
Social Media Specialist for local businesses growing through Instagram I work with small & local businesses in and around the Tunbridge Wells area. I offer a personal & dedicated service to clients and provide a variety of supportive packages for those who want a helping hand kickstarting, growing, or overhauling their Instagram page and other social media channels. Whether you don't have time to focus on socials, or don't have the experience or tools to manage it yourself, I will take the time to understand your business and work with you to make it the best that it can be.
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