Lancaster's newest city councillor speaks out after winning by-election for Greens at age of 18
A new Lancaster city councillor – who is also a university student – has spoken about his election as a Green Party councillor, the other students who inspired him to stand, and the success of Reform UK.
Wilson Colley, 18, was elected to Lancaster City Council in the recent John O’Gaunt by-election and was formally welcomed at the council’s latest full meeting this week.
He illustrates a distinctive contribution played by Lancaster University students and staff in the district’s local political life, past and present, across a range of parties.
The new Mayor of Lancaster, Coun Margaret Pattison, welcomed Coun Colley and he was given a round of applause by councillors from all political parties, as is a tradition when a new councillor attends their first meeting.
Coun Colley is studying law and politics at Lancaster University. He is in his first year and is from Little Clifton near Workington in Cumbria.
Speaking informally after the council meeting, he said: “I was involved with the Green Party in Cumbria and when I came to Lancaster, I was interested in getting involved in politics here. There are two other city councillors for the university area who are both Greens. It was them who really inspired me to put my name forward and stand as a candidate.”
Lancaster City Council has a ward officially named University, which is represented by councillors Maria Deery, a history and politics student, and Tom Fish.
Other university students and staff to have been elected for various wards in recent years include Isabella Metcalf-Riener, Erin Hall, Fabiha Askari and Oliver Robinson, as well as law lecturer Richard Austen-Baker.
Ward boundaries across the Lancaster and Morecambe district were re-drawn in recent years by a government-linked boundary review.
Officials decided Lancaster University deserved to continue to have a specific ward for reasons including the size of the campus, the university’s sense of community and factors such as transport, health and infrastructure needs.
Although the number of councillors for the new University ward was reduced from three to two, there are a number of students who are councillors for other parts of the district too.
Coun Colley said: “I’m learning about how things work at the council and the proceedings. I genuinely want to serve the community as best I can and support the Green Party leadership here.
"The Greens seem to have done a good job in the Lancaster district so far. We want to keep Lancaster green and progressing positively, and for people to have trust in us.
Asked about the by-election campaign in John O’Gaunt and the success of Reform UK in the county council elections, Coun Colley said: “The ward I was elected in is not a Reform area. I think Reform got 15 votes while there were over 500 for the Green Party.
“Obviously, the performance of Reform elsewhere is a concern. It’s a worrying shift in our political discourse. But we believe the Green Party offers real hope and positive change. There’s a commitment to fight back against the hateful and, we think, ultimately dangerous Reform UK.”