Medway has a very active youth council, where young people can dip their toe in the world of politics in a way that matters to them. It’s produced some future politicians, but also has influenced change in policy and priorities in relation to the Towns’ children and teenagers.

Our local democracy reporter went along to meet Medway’s youth parliament member, Oliver Tomlin, who’s been involved since he was 11, to find out what they do and why kids should get involved.

If you’re not a particularly political person, it can be unclear how people make the move to get into politics.

Medway Youth Council offers entry into this world, giving young people the chance to understand issues, share their thoughts about the things they care about, and engage with the political process.

But Oliver Tomlin, Medway’s member for the UK Youth Parliament, tells me there’s so much more to it than just that.

We met in Gun Wharf just before a youth council meeting and he explained to me that it offers youngsters essential life skills and the opportunity to make a difference.

The 17-year-old first became involved when he was just 11 after his school attended one of the conferences that the youth council puts on.

Every year, pupils in schools across the Towns are given the chance to vote on the issues that they care or want to know more about.

The most popular option is taken as the topic for the annual conference, which offers workshops and lessons on how to deal with whatever has been chosen.

In previous years, topics have included poverty, climate change, and knife crime. When Oliver was in his first year of secondary school the theme was bullying.

He said he enjoyed the workshops and learning in a different way, outside of the classroom, but the big moment came during a Q&A session with youth council alumnus, George Perfect, now a councillor for Rainham North.

“I was a very little kid so had to go to the front row to be able to see properly. I sat next to these two empty reserved seats, I didn’t know who they were reserved for and it turned out that me and my friend were sat next to the Mayor of Medway.

“We had a chat and I asked him should I get involved and he told me I should and see what I could do with it.”

Oliver tells me he’s personally developed many skills, but that the best part of the youth council is that it gives young people a voice that is actually listened to.

“The youth council started in 1998 and we’ve been going for all that time. It’s not dwindled, our numbers are still quite significant. Because of Covid numbers went down a bit but we’re building that back up.

“I think a big part of why it’s stuck around is because we genuinely are heard. Young people can come along for just one session and say what they want to say, and we’ll probably take that forward if we agree with it.

“I definitely feel heard, and I know other young people feel heard, because whenever we engage we get lots of positive feedback from councillors. There’s lots of support and praise for young people.

“It’s great for us to have a formal voice, and we have two seats on the proper council’s children and young people overview and scrutiny committee, so we can hold the administration to account on things that affect us.”

Since joining at age 11, the Holcombe grammar school student has held a lot of different positions on the youth council, from communicating with young people about what the council has been doing to trying to get people involved, and he’s even run one of the annual conferences, organising the speakers and workshops.

In his time, he tells me, he’s been involved in making a difference, such as the Medway Youth Pass, which makes bus travel cheaper for students.

The youth council worked with Arriva to help make public transport more affordable and accessible for young people across the Towns.

But the campaign he’s really passionate about is called Curriculum for Life, which aims to give kids valuable lessons they’ll use for the rest of their lives.

“What I’m looking to achieve from that is that young people in Medway will be taught skills that will be with them for life.

“That’s career-type things, like how to write a CV or prepare for an interview, or health-based stuff, like how to give CPR, how to act in an emergency situation so they can actually help, as well as social skills, how to talk informally, how to connect with people.

“I think a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to learn these skills necessarily. It’s quite important in life to know how to do these things but they’re not covered in typical schooling, even though it’s going to be needed throughout our lives. We should be learning about it.”

Oliver cannot recommend getting involved with youth council enough, he says it’s given him a range of new skills, but also amazing experiences.

“I’ve talked at Holocaust Memorial Day, this year I talked at Medway Interfaith’s walk for peace. It’s kind of crazy how much you do.

“I’ve definitely gained public speaking skills, giving speeches, even though you’re very nervous while doing it, everyone’s very supportive of you.

“Some people who come to Youth Council, when they first come, they’re very shy, they don’t want to speak, but then they get the bug for it and they want to do it again and again and it brings them out of their shell and helps them.

“It’s quite good that we give that stepping stone for people to go out and develop, become more extroverted, experience new things.

“Even if you’re not standing, you get a chance to vote and you learn how to read manifestos and think about the issues that you care about. It’s a starting point for people to get involved with politics and the sooner that starts the more likely they are to stay engaged in the future.”

And Oliver also says that people are often surprised about how open and diverse youth council members can be.

“There’s a suspicion that it’s all grammar school kids but it’s really not, it’s a real mix of people from totally different backgrounds.

“There’s a perception of youth council and people say “Oh I can’t go along because only that sort of people go” and when they actually turn up they see it’s not, they can actually have their say about what they believe in.

“People are sceptical, but once they come along and see it’s not that they get involved. Definitely in my school people’s initial reaction is “Oh that’s so nerdy” but then I show them who comes and what we do and people start to change their mind.”

I ask Oliver what he’d say to any young person thinking of getting involved but who isn’t sure.

“Definitely do it, because it will just open your world up to doorways you don’t even think are possible. There may be a certain issue you focus on and with youth council you get the skills to move on with that issue and do something about it.

“One of my friends is into his football and was trying to gain access to the footballing world. Through getting involved he found out about the FA youth council and he was able to join that and have a say there too.

“You don’t know where it will take you, but it’s bound to be interesting.”

This year, the youth council has been campaigning for universal school meals and there will be a day where all youth councils go to the Houses of Parliament to discuss the topic.

The conference topic for this year is identity and more information about it and how to engage is available on the Medway Youth Council website.

As for the future, Oliver has an ambition to maybe become a parliamentary researcher and then one day a candidate for office.