Meet the Liberal Democrat councillor who was studying for A-levels when elected

The Oldham Times reports:

Tom Penketh, of Shaw, was just 18 years old when he gained 812 votes to be elected to the Shaw and Crompton Parish Council in May…

He said: “I discovered my interest in politics during the US Election when I was in Year 11.

“I managed to get onto the youth council through school, and then realised I wanted to do this sort of thing on a bigger scale.”

The councillor added: “The election fell perfectly because it was just after I turned 18. I thought ‘Why not?’ and went for it.

“I managed to get it and I was obviously buzzing, but I think it shows that the area wants to see more young faces representing them, and that gave me a lot of confidence.”

Tom was taken under the wing of both Cllr Howard Sykes MBE and Cllr Louie Hamblett, both of whom he says were very helpful when it came to preparing him for the role.

You can follow Tom on X/Twitter here.

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