For decades Barnsley Town Hall has been the home of veteran councillors making decisions for the town but after last month’s elections there are new, younger faces looking to make waves in the sphere. Chronicle chief reporter Jack Tolson spoke to two of the youngest councillors to ever be elected into the role - Brandon Green and Rocky Laybourn. This week we’ll feature Old Town Labour councillor Brandon who has become the first youth councillor to make his way through the ranks and gain a seat in the town hall.

SECONDARY school teacher Brandon is only 25 years old but has been interested in local politics since he was in school - and he’s hoping to encourage other young people across the borough to get involved.

The new Old Town councillor is the first person to have stood as a youth councillor and a fully-fledged councillor since its inception.

He admits that the youth council has helped him move forward in his role and, after a confident start to his role at last week’s annual full council meeting, he said that it’s a good place for anyone looking to get into politics to start.

He told the Chronicle: “It’s quite the environment to be in.

“For me being in that chamber was a really proud moment.

“To say I’m 25, I’ve been campaigning locally on issues that matter to people in Barnsley for the best part of a decade.

“I didn’t see myself as being a councillor at the age of 25 - but what an experience and what an opportunity it is.

“I didn’t come from a political family but I remember at school I was sometimes quite opinionative.

“My French teacher said to me ‘you should get involved in the youth council’.

“It wasn’t something that I’d considered before but I went to a couple of meetings and thought this was for me.

“I could see that my voice mattered and that I could make change in my local area.

“I felt like everyone got a lot out of it.

“I was a youth councillor for four years and so that was a really nice induction into how the council works.

“It’s probably made me not as intimidated by the chamber as such because I’ve worked there before.”

He admits that younger councillors are able to bring fresh eyes and new ideas to the town hall.

Brandon added: “For me it’s about bringing a fresh energy, fresh idea and the willingness to think in a different way.

“I can come in with a new sense of enthusiasm.

“There’ll be things that I try to do where I won’t be successful but I’ve got the passion and the drive to make a change and push forward on as many local issues as I can.

“I feel like I have an impact in the classroom day-to-day, and I want a different kind of impact in the local community.

“I suppose by being a teacher, you see some of the opportunities and limitations of public services and some of the challenges that public services are up against.

“As well as being a young person and bringing that point of view, I’d also like to bring the point of view of someone who is working in the public service.”

Brandon has been creating videos of his day-to-day life as a councillor and posting them on social media, hoping to get younger people involved.

“I don’t want the videos to be just me pushing a political party message,” he said.

“I want it to be that I’m a local representative.

“I want to show the processes, how things work.

“I want to empower people locally to feel like they can get involved in politics, whether that’s to run for elected office down the line or to have a say on an issue that matters to them locally.

“If I can get people involved in politics through it, that’s excellent.

“But just if people know how decisions are being made, it might build that trust with the local government.”