'We need more young people in parliament': Teen MP candidate for Shrewsbury speaks of her vision
Many 18 year olds might spend their gap year earning cash, travelling the world or just chilling out.
But Hannah Locke is hoping to make a difference with her time. The former Prestfelde School pupil has joined the race to become MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham, and will be running as an independent candidate.
If she were to win, she would be Shrewsbury’s first female member of parliament, and the youngest ever MP.
The teenager, who was born in the town and has lived there all her life, says she wants more focus on local issues and is keen to provide a voice for young people.
“I’ve been following politics over the last few years, and the focus has been more and more on Brexit," she said.
“As much as that is important, it has meant the focus has moved quite far away from local politics. Attention needs to be brought back to issues at a local level.
“We need more young people in parliament and young voices to represent people, because the decisions that are made today are going to be something we inherit for our future.
“I want to be truly representative of constituents' opinions and be a non-partisan voice in Westminster. That’s why I’m running as an independent.”
Miss Locke has not been affiliated to a political party before and has not held student political positions, but has been involved in the eco team and feminist society during her college years.
She also says that she believes there should be a second referendum on Brexit so the people themselves can decide between the given deal, an alternative deal, or revoking Article 50.
To earn a seat at Westminster, she will have to defeat four other candidates, including the Conservatives’ Daniel Kawczynski - who has been Shrewsbury’s MP since 2005, Labour’s Julia Buckley, Nat Green from the Liberal Democrats and Julian Dean from the Greens.
It may seem like a daunting task, but when asked if she felt she had a realistic chance of winning, the confident teenager said: “Yes, I don’t see why not.
"I’ve been talking to people around town and in the villages. They have been very supportive and raised a number of issues.
"I feel like people want something different and want politics to be brought back to a local level.
“People are ready for a different approach.”
