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Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor

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If she wins the seat of Stroud Central in Thursday’s Stroud District Council elections, Cate James-Hodges would become the youngest person ever elected to the Council. The 19-year-old – Leader of Stroud District Youth Council and winner of last year’s Stroud Town Council Young Person of the Year award – talks about her background and aspirations.

Q. How old were you when you first got interested in politics?

A. Even at primary school I was interested in the world around me. I remember my mum taking me into the polling station when she went to vote, and it fascinated me.

It was joining Stroud District Youth Council that really focused my interests in a more political direction. I developed an interest in social issues, the disparity between what people want and need and what they’re given. 

4 CJH with liz hillary | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
Cate on the election trail with (left) Liz Hillary, Green candidate for Rodborough.

Brexit is a case in point; it really developed my sense of frustration at what the establishment was able to do to the people. It made me want to be part of the process so that I might be able to influence it in some small way.

Q. Did your parents encourage your interest in politics?

A. As a family we have always discussed current affairs together and my parents have always been supportive of whatever I decide to do.

2 CJH | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
Young people should use their right to vote, says Cate, pictured with the ‘Register to Vote’ beermats created by Stroud Brewery.

Q. Is it intimidating, knowing you’re competing for the Stroud Central seat against a veteran Labour politician, a man in his 70s who has years of experience in elected office?

A. In a way, yes, but it’s not my job to worry about the other candidates. My job is to do my best, work hard and let people decide. That’s both the brilliance and the challenge of democracy; if you put power in the hands of the people you have to trust in yourself to be the best you can be, and hope they trust you to make well-informed decisions that benefit the community.

I think that my youth and energy – and my ideas – could benefit me. Residents often say they want a change from the stereotypical perception they have of local politicians.

5 CJH with simon pickering | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
Cate (left) out canvassing with former SDC environment committee chair Simon Pickering.

The fact that I live in Stroud, while my opponent doesn’t, might help me too. Residents seem to like candidates who live near them and understand those hyper-local issues that bother them.

Q. Do your political activities mean missing out on ‘normal’ teenage activities?

A. I had my 16th birthday and did GCSEs during lockdown so there wasn’t much socialising at school; even the Prom was cancelled. So, I didn’t have that experience that older people had of ‘normal’ teenage activities. 

I’m probably not the stereotypical teenager. It’s sad that people have a stereotype of teenagers as not being engaged in politics, but I hope I can change that! 

6 CJH | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
Stroud Brewery’s recent event held to encourage young people to register to vote heard from speakers from the Labour and Green parties, including Cate (centre back).

It can be hard to fit everything in but I’m good at time management, so I manage to balance my job, my friends and my work with Stroud District Youth Council.       

Q. Are you unusual among your peers in being so engaged politically?

A. Probably. I tried to engage people from school but they were so busy and drained, so exhausted with the world, so angry about injustice – including climate change. They find it all overwhelming and their attitude can be ‘what’s the point?’

8 CJH | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
“Young people need to feel that they can have an impact,” believes Cate.

And many young people simply don’t know how to get involved in politics. If I hadn’t been approached by the local Green Party I’d have had no idea either; I’d have just had that vague feeling of wanting to do something

Young people need to feel like they can have an impact; and to understand that collaboratively we can all do something special. 

7 CJH | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
With the support of her family (her aunt and grandmother are pictured), Cate hopes to win the Stroud Central seat.

Q. Can young people make good councillors?

A. Young people have a sense of urgency; we are prepared to push and push to get something across the line, while remaining as true as possible to the mission we started with. 

Local politics needs a mix: people of different ages, from different backgrounds and with different perspectives. That includes different career backgrounds. Politics needs people from a business background but also people like me who work for minimum wage, so that you don’t get employers making all the decisions. 

3 CJH and lous stinton | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
Cate with her Stroud Town Council counterpart Louisa Stinton, who is standing for re-election in Central ward.

Having that breadth of representation means things get championed and pushed forward that might otherwise never happen.

Q. Does your relative inexperience in politics matter?

A.  I would say I am experienced. I’ve been on Stroud District Youth Council for five years; I have been to committee meetings alongside elected councillors, presented at main council and been involved in monitoring the performance of the council. In some ways I have more experience of how the district council works than some much older candidates.

9 | Meet the woman who could be Stroud District’s youngest-ever councillor
With Val Saunders, Green candidate for Farmhill & Paganhill, at the Paganhill community hub.

Promoted by Rob Brookes on behalf of Stroud District Green Party, at 17 Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5QT

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