Young people vote for their voice on Caerphilly council

The Caerphilly Youth Forum meets to discuss how the local authority can best serve young people

Young people's views on cuts to public services in Caerphilly will be represented on the council after a "nerve-wracking" election.

Over the last few weeks 11-25-year-olds from across the county have been voting to decide who will be their next youth champion to represent them on the authority.

Donna Cushing, 50, and Mark Evans, 46, said it was the most "terrifying" election they had faced.

The votes will be counted on Friday.

Every two months young people from across Caerphilly join together in the council chamber to discuss the impact of decisions made by local politicians on them.

The Youth Forum, which has about 50 members, looks at issues such as bullying, sexual health and the curriculum, and comes up with ideas which are then fed back to the authority by the youth champion.

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Youth Forum Chairman Matthew Diggle said young people had been affected by cuts to public services and their voices needed to be heard

Matthew Diggle, 17, chairman of the council's youth forum, said the councillors could learn a lot from the county's youth.

"I think its good to have somebody actually pushing our views forward," he said, adding young people had seen the impact of service cuts, especially to youth clubs.

"Although they might get messages across to the council better, I think we are the best people to educate them of what's important to us.

"I think having a conversation with them is good, and we can tell them what we want personally, so what interests us, what we see politically and what changes we want to make."

The voting age for elections in Wales could be lowered to 16 under new powers, something which an assembly consultation showed the majority of young people want.

Both candidates said the vote - which saw ballot boxes placed in schools across Caerphilly - was a "fantastic start" to getting more young people involved in politics.

Dylan Thomas, 17, and Aysha Osborne, 17, said the youth forum was the only time they got their views across to the decision-makers in their community

Youth forum members Dylan Thomas and Aysha Osborne, said it was important that a new youth champion was elected onto the council to represent their views.

They said it was necessary so that changes could be made and services which affected them were protected.

Nicole Bird, 21, enjoys attending the youth forum

Nicole Bird, 21, said it was important that young people got their voices heard in the decision-making process.

She said the youth champion would make it easier for teenagers and children to get their issues dealt with by their local councillor.

Meet the candidates

Donna Cushing and Mark Evans spent weeks canvassing in schools and youth clubs across Caerphilly for votes

Former youth worker Donna Cushing, 50, was elected councillor for Hengoed at the local elections in May.

She said she wanted to encourage young people to "better themselves" and get involved in local decision making that affects their lives.

Ms Cushing said the ballot, which sees young people vote in a similar way to official local elections, was a "fantastic opportunity" as it helped them get interested in politics at a young age.

But she added: "I'm absolutely terrified...I'm more nervous in this than I was in the election back in May. They're judging you."

Former teacher New Tredegar councillor Mark Evans, 46, said it was important young people's voices were heard as they were the doctors, teachers and councillors of the future.

He said: "I've gone through a few elections over the last couple of years for my own position as councillor, and this one for the children has been worse, because you don't know exactly what they are thinking...I'm just shaking."

The election comes after former youth champion, councillor Mike Prew, lost his seat in May. The winner will hold the role for two years.