Last week was local democracy week up and down the country and whilst there wasn’t a national election to talk about, students at Greenford High took part in selecting their favourite Ealing Councillor. Northolt West End’s Cllr Bassam Mahfouz proved a big hit, as he won the political “speed-dating” event for the second year in a row.

Around thirty students were given the opportunity to quiz local councillors from all parties about local democracy, being a politician and the political issues that matter to them.

At the end of each session students scored each councillor out of 5 on points such as “listening skills”, “approachability” and “would you vote for them”. The votes were tallied, and Councillor Mahfouz was declared the winner for the second year in a row.

Councillor Mahfouz said:

“I’m thrilled to have been chosen as the winner, and it was great to see so many young people showing an interest in politics. The biggest issue that came across was the feeling by young people that they were all being portrayed as yobs. Most young people are hard working, studious and want to get on in life and enjoy it. It’s great that there are events like this that promote politics amongst the younger generation and I can’t wait to see what they will achieve in the political arena. I’d like to see the council promote this more so that we have even more schools involved next year.”