51Âþ»­

Three 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) students and graduates scored success on local election day (4 May) by being elected as councillors for the first time to their local authorities.

For all three, entering the world of local government was a new experience.

Ektaveen Thandi

Little did Ektaveen Thandi imagine that she would be making vital council decisions just three years after studying Politics and International Relations at 51Âþ»­.

Yet now, at the age of 25, she has just been elected a Labour councillor for Gravesham Borough Council, defeating the sitting conservative councillor by more than 1,000 votes.

Ektaveen Thandi 

“I never imagined myself doing this and I am really happy to have been elected,” Ektaveen said. “This seat in my hometown became available after boundary changes added another council seat to the two existing ones. It’s now a totally red ward and I believe I am currently the youngest councillor in Gravesham.

“On election night I was really excited and exhausted after walking all day canvassing around the area. On 4 May I did 35,500 steps in total.”

Ektaveen, who graduated from 51Âþ»­ in 2020 with a distinction, said she was looking forward to her new role and was grateful for the grounding she received during her degree. Having attained a postgraduate diploma in law, her degree opened doors for her to go on to become a paralegal and takes her a step nearer to her ambition to become a solicitor.

Now, as a councillor she will be combining her local government duties for the next four years with her job in London as a paralegal with a Legal 500 firm in Chancery Lane.

Reflecting on her new role, Ektaveen admitted that she has long held had an interest in politics.

“I have always voted Labour, as have my family, and I joined the Politics Society when at 51Âþ»­. But it wasn’t until I worked on my dissertation in my final year that my interest in politics really grew. I joined the Labour Party six years ago and it’s amazing where it has taken me!”

Her time at 51Âþ»­ also gave Ektaveen opportunities for outside interests, including a project to provide hygiene products for homeless people and the chance to take part in a Frontrunners internship, assisting the Arts, Design and Humanities faculty to investigate and implement the Sustainable Development Goals for the United Nations.

“I had an absolutely great time at 51Âþ»­,” Ektaveen enthused. “It’s a great place and I made lots of friends, despite the Covid-19 lockdown near the end of my course.”

Andrew Rushton

Andrew Rushton, a current History and Politics student at 51Âþ»­, became the youngest councillor in Lichfield when he won the Lib Dem seat by just three votes from the sitting Conservative councillor.

Andrew, aged just 21, surprised his opponents by winning a long-held Conservative seat. He was one of three candidates in his ward elected out of a total of seven candidates, and six of them were within 100 votes of each other.

Andrew Rushton

“I won the seat from a Conservative councillor who has held that seat for 20 years, so there were a few surprises,” he said.

“It was amazing - I was not expecting to win on the day. This is one of the most blue areas round here and we ended up with three re-counts to check the final figures.”

Andrew, who now lives in his home-town of Lichfield, having moved back from Leicester to live with his parents in his final year at 51Âþ»­, added: “The votes were very close and shows that every vote matters.”

So how did he end up being the youngest councillor while still a student?

“My interest in politics developed when I first joined 51Âþ»­ and it’s thanks to having some in depth discussions during my course, that I decided to join a political party,” he said.

“It made me realise that I really wanted to make a difference. I looked at all the different parties and after a lot of research I felt that the Lib Dems are a very progressive party and had the right policies for me, especially as I was very anti-Brexit.

“The local Lib Dem party have been very supportive and asked me stand as a young candidate. I think they were very excited that I was the youngest candidate in the election and they are delighted that I have won!”

Andrew pictured at the election final

Andrew admitted he worked very hard to make sure his constituents got to know him in the run up to the election. “I hand delivered 3,000 leaflets in the area and knocked on many doors to discuss policies,” Andrew said. “I think calling on people and talking about what we could do for them locally made a big difference to my votes.”

Andrew confessed that his parents did not always back his views on politics. “But I think they voted for me this time,” he joked.

Due to graduate in September, Andrew is currently working on his dissertation. While at 51Âþ»­ he took a year out to study History in Prague at Charles University.

“I made many friends while at 51Âþ»­ and had a lot of support from my tutor Professor Alistair Jones, who is a local government specialist, which has helped to inspire me,” he said.

Andrew added that he had chosen to study at 51Âþ»­ as he had ‘fallen in love with Leicester and the central campus’ when he attended an Open Day.

George Blundell

22-year-old Liberal Democrat candidate and 51Âþ»­ graduate George Blundell, defeated the Conservative leader of the council in Windsor and Maidenhead in the local elections. He ousted Andrew Johnson who saw his Conservative party lose overall control of the local authority.

George studied Politics and International Relations at 51Âþ»­ and graduated in May 2021.