Cllr Tomlinson Wins 'I am A Councillor, Get Me Out Of Here'...

Tory Justin Has Been Voted Your Favourite Councillor

Young people in Swindon have voted Coun Justin Tomlinson (Con, Abbey Meads) as their king of the political jungle in a contest based on the television series I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

During the week, 13 to 18-year-olds have been logging on to a website and asking five councillors questions about issues affecting their lives.

Each day they voted for the councillor who best represented their views, then the councillor with the least votes at the end of each day was evicted. Thursday saw a day of questioning by pupils of Headlands School in Swindon and Ridgeway School in Wroughton.

The final two contestants, Coun Tomlinson and Coun Fay Howard (Lab, Parks), said they were inundated and unable to leave their computer screens all day.

With 82 percent of the poll, Coun Tomlinson was a happy man. "I'm absolutely delighted," he said.

"I was extremely impressed with the standard of questions they were asking, and this made the experience challenging as well as good fun.

"I think this experience will make the five of us have a far better understanding of local youth issues and I feel proud to now help them with their agenda."

Coun Howard said: "It was great fun and I'm sure Justin will do his best to speak out on behalf of all the youth".

Called 'I'm a Councillor, Get Me Out of Here', the exercise was part of Local Democracy Week 2003. The theme ­ Listening to tomorrow's voters today ­ explores ways to get young people interested and involved in local politics.

Evening Advertiser 20/10/03