Cowes Enterprise College student Cameron Palin became the youngest councillor in the country in November when he was co-opted onto East Cowes Town Council for the Green Party, now he is standing for the party in the Local Elections.
Cameron’s first involvement with local politics was in 2017 when he campaigned to reopen Ryde Arena ice rink. Cameron worked closely with his local council and his eyes were opened to how he could make a difference to his community.
He then supported the Green Party in the 2017 General Election campaign before being co-opted on to the Council in November last year – aged just 18 and 2 weeks, making him the youngest Town councillor in the country.
Now he’s preparing to stand for the Green Party in the Osborne ward at the upcoming elections on 6th May.
A level student Cameron, who lives in East Cowes, says he is standing to make a difference on a number of issues including improvement to the Cowes Floating Bridge, the completion of Saunders Way and the prevention of development on greenfield sites. He said all these are strong environmental issues.
Cameron has also been bringing his political acumen to the classroom, joining his sixth form leadership team to ensure the student voice is heard at the academy. He also worked to get a climate change hustings at the last General Election, helping to get students interested in politics, and helped create lessons on climate change with former Cowes student Kieran Wetherick.
Having joined Cowes Enterprise College in Year 7, Cameron is currently studying for A Levels in History, Philosophy and Psychology, as well as an extended project qualification into child development. After school, he is hoping to study Primary Education at the University of Winchester, but Cameron said his commitments to constituents would come first – if he is elected, he plans to take a gap year to focus exclusively on council work and says he would then commute to the university from the Isle of Wight, again allowing him to focus on local issues and council work.
Cameron Palin has said:
“When Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP, visited the island it showed to me how much they care about local as well as national issues and I find that, and Caroline so inspirational. My other political hero is the Former South East MEP Alexandra Phillips.
“I really want to be elected so that I can continue to represent the constituents of the Isle of Wight on the issues that matter most to them.
“With nearly six months’ experience already under my belt as a councillor, I know that I’ve got the skills needed to do the job, and I’m able to bring a new perspective to the role.”
Rachel Kitley, Cowes Enterprise College Principal said:
“Cameron is a passionate and determined member of our Cowes community, and over his time at the academy he has been committed to making a difference, both for our students and for local people more widely. We’re very proud to have politically active students like Cameron in our academy.
“We want all of our students at Cowes Enterprise College to stand up for what they believe in and are supporting all our students in their political ambitions.”
Last week Island Echo reported that fellow Cowes College student Matthew Ambrosini is standing as a Conservative.
