A NTU student has spoken out about his experience in politics and what his plans are for the future.
Frank Adlington-Stringer, 23, revealed he is standing in the County Council elections for the Green Party in North East Derbyshire.
The currently third year Politics and International Relations student talked about Parlimentors and the role of young people in politics and environment in an interview with Platform’s Kieran Burt.
The young candidate-to-be said he joined the Green party in late 2018, after leaving the Labour party earlier in the same year.
He said: “It was the best decision I ever took. I immediately got involved.
“In May 2019 I was standing in my first local council election in North East Derby and it was a whirlwind.
“I finished above the Labour and Lib Dem candidates and coming second to the Conservatives. So that was really quite positive.”
Frank said that standing for North East Derbyshire in the general elections ‘was a whole different ball game’, but ‘exciting’ overall.
“Being able to engage with people on a deeper level across the constituency who’d want to hear my views, hear what I was trying to do was great.
“Understanding people’s feelings hearing what they want to change, and their hopes and fears is quite powerful.
“I did hustings, a few school events, and bits with the other candidates. Just sitting in the line-up of four other candidates and engaging with people was really positive.
“We came fourth, but we doubled our result based off the previous election. We did much better than we hoped.”
Frank now serves on Wingerworth Parish Council and has the ability to help people deal with issues.
“I felt powerless as a candidate before.
“As a Parish councillor, I can implement the changes some of the people want to see – it’s been really good.”
He also revealed his plans for the future with the county council elections in May rapidly approaching
“I’ll be standing for North East Derby.
“It’s been really rewarding, engaging with people and to feel that what you’re doing has an impact on people’s lives.”
Being a student and getting involved in local politics is not easy, as Frank recognised.
He added: “It’s definitely been a lot of work and I’ve chosen to put the time and effort in – it has been difficult.
“I enjoy being busy, so I bring it on myself really. It’s really important to find that balance.
“Focus on doing the best job you can and not every job you can.”
He also said that for young people local politics feel almost like ‘hanging out with your nan and friends’, and it is a lot harder to make a change.
“The main issue is that local politics is unpaid – so there is no real benefit.
“I feel like that is a bit of a problem, as well as not having the time.
“Another issue is a lot of people in local politics are older, and that puts young people off.
“It’s almost like hanging out with your nan and her friends. That’s how a lot of people see local politics.
“The main thing for me is to inspire other young people to give it a go and get involved because that’s what we need.
“People think politics is really complicated, or their voice isn’t worthy.
“But as you get involved you realise that people are just as normal as you are and knows the same amount as you do.
“Nobody has infinite wisdom, we’re all just trying to get along and figure it out as we go. As you get involved you realise it isn’t as special as it looks.”
Frank said that more should be done for young people to have representation on the scene of local politics.
“Young people care about politics. There is so much that is going to impact our future and is impacting our future that we need to get involved with.
“Politicians don’t represent young people, and I don’t think that it’ll particularly change in the near future unless we, as young people, stand up and get involved.
“Our voice is worth just as much as anyone else’s.”
He also voiced his opinion on how the current government is tackling the climate crisis.
“The current conservative government is failing miserably at tackling the climate crisis.
“The government is committed to a 2050 net zero deadline which denies climate science and will fail to stop the irreversible damage of climate change.
“The recent ten point plan outlined by the government is a watered down version of what is really needed, a Green New Deal.
“The work this government has done is nothing more than produce a series of headline grabbing empty promises.”
He also said that there are vital steps that local governments and individuals can make to fight against climate change.
“Whilst tackling the climate crisis seems a daunting task, there is still a lot which we as individuals and local communities can do.
“We are all encouraged to shopping independently and locally, eat what is in season, avoid plastics and harmful chemicals in products, swap to a vegan diets, drive less and use public transport, plant trees or wildflowers and so on.
“Whilst these are small changes are crucial to change, if we are going to actually tackle the climate crisis as urgently as required it is up to huge corporations and governments to make large scale changes.
“The best thing we can do as individuals is become collectives. Let’s get together and make as much noise as possible.
“By protesting, joining societies, unions, community action groups and voting we can make a real difference.”
By Kieran Burt
Lead image: Frank Adlington-Stringer