Cornwall Reform UK councillor, 18, hoping to inspire Gen Z

Angus Black, 18, believes having someone as young as him making decisions at Lys Kernow / County Hall can only be a good thing.

Angus was elected as the Reform UK councillor for the Calstock division in May’s election. He admits being shocked that he’d won a seat in a previous Labour stronghold, but says working for the area he grew up in is now his priority and he’s given up a job behind the bar in a local pub as a result.

The former Callington Community College student is now getting used to life making decisions on the unitary authority’s miscellaneous licensing, east area planning and constitution committees, while many of his contemporaries are at university or working.

I met him during a break in a committee meeting at the council’s Chy Trevail offices in Bodmin. The fresh-faced councillor, who still can’t drive and relies on colleagues to give him lifts, certainly stands out from his contemporaries, some of whom are four times his age.

I started by asking him why someone who is 18 want to be a councillor.

“I’ve always been interested in politics from a a young age,” he told me. “It was either Brexit or Trump – very interesting movements.

"Everybody had an opinion – my granddad, being the man he is, has always been heavily involved in politics and I’ve always engaged with these things from a very young age.

“He did a lot of leafleting when he was a younger man for the Labour Party in Australia. I spent a long time in a household that was very political.”

Cllr Black’s granddad Paul Plowright is a Scillonian who lived in Penzance after meeting his grandmother. The whole family emigrated to Australia, including Angus’ mother and her siblings, in 1982, returning in 1997.

The teenage councillor has an Aussie twang despite never being Down Under. “I’m a dual citizen. The only time I’ve set foot in Australia is in the embassy in London.”

Angus’ dad is Scottish, though he hasn’t picked up that accent.

How does he equate his grandfather’s Labour roots with the polar opposite of his Reform beliefs?

“My granddad started off on the left but I’m sure he’d describe himself as Reform now. I’ve always approached these things with an open mind because granddad always had two different perspectives.

“It was always debates and discourse when I grew up. I welcome things like that and it’s why I love being at County Hall because it’s all these different ideas clashing. I think that’s what politics ought to be.”

Angus was elected as the Reform UK councillor for the Calstock division in May’s election. (Image: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)He has rejected further education in favour of a political role. “I always wanted to get involved in politics but I didn’t necessarily think that uni was the right way forward for me. Becoming a councillor was one of those things that just happened.

"A couple of friends of mine encouraged me to come along to a relaxed committee meeting in a local pub. I went along and got talking to the members, a position came up which I was encouraged to apply for and I’m now vice-chairman of the Reform party in south east Cornwall.

"As a councillor, I believe I’ve greatly benefited from that experience. It’s given me a taste of politics at a local level – the whole process of campaigning and dealing with people. Because, even within the party, there’s loads of different ideas for how we should go about things, how we should spread new messages and bring new people into the fold.”

So, the inevitable question: why Reform UK?

“I consider myself quite traditional. I’m quite uncomfortable with mass illegal immigration, particularly as a threat to national security. I have an issue with a lack of assimilation. I don’t think people are being encouraged to assimilate.

“It’s illegal immigration in particular. It’s a shame as you get a lot of genuine refugees, but because we can’t possibly know who is or isn’t, it can create quite troubling circumstances for us on a security level. That’s one of the main things that pushed me towards Reform.

“I welcome change. I think both major parties have been at it for a while and I think nobody’s happy regardless of where they sit on the political spectrum. I think parties like Reform are a great opportunity to mix things up a little bit and to prove to people that things don’t always have to be depressing.”

A lot of people would say that, yes, immigration is a big issue in this country but not so much in Cornwall. What about local issues?

“On the election trail, I didn’t mention national politics once. I campaigned on a credo of community first. I think, save the politics for County Hall.

"The reason I support the immigration policy even as a Cornishman is, besides being a Cornishman, I am British. These issues, while they may not threaten me directly, they do threaten certain aspects of our security on a national level.

“I’ve done my best to work with parish councillors of all different backgrounds and parties. I really have made an effort to be as non-political as possible.”

What are the issues that concern him specifically in Cornwall?

“Primarily, a lack of opportunity. I’ve lived in Gunnislake since I was five and in that time it’s sort of fallen into a very sad way. Two of the pubs have shut, the social club’s gone, the butchers have gone.

"These aren’t necessarily issues that are exclusive to Cornwall, but I think because the Cornish economy is predominantly tertiary, we’re hit particularly hard.

“We have a seasonal economy so when things go it really hurts some small towns.

"One of the first things I did when I got elected was to organise local weeding efforts. Myself and others, irrespective of politics, went out and began weeding our streets. It really makes a world of difference. Once Gunnislake’s done, we’re going to move on to different areas.”

Angus believes having someone as young as him making decisions at Lys Kernow / County Hall can only be a good thing. (Image: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)What about the opinion that people who represent and support Reform UK are far right and racist?

“I totally reject that line of thinking. I don’t think it’s fair, I think it’s weaponising words to throw at people.

"I’ll use my granddad as a prime example of this. He supports Reform and in Australia he worked for the preservation of the Aboriginal culture – that’s a man who’s opposed to illegal immigration, but I don’t think he can be accused of being racist.

“I don’t think people buy into that idea anymore. It’s nasty tactics, but that’s the nature of politics.”

What’s Cllr Black’s response to the opinion that Reform has a lack of any serious policies to back up its idealised view?

“I would disagree with that. One of my favourite Reform policies is a push for more policing and as a matter of fact it’s very personal to me in my village.

"Unfortunately, we’re enduring what some would describe as a crime spree, lots of antisocial behaviour. It’s an unfortunate situation in Cornwall that the police are so thinly stretched. Their hands are tied when dealing with certain incidents.

“People are now in a position where they don’t feel safe. That’s by no means the fault of the local police. It’s a fault that lies with a bigger issue entirely.”

How would Reform fund increased policing?

“There’s a push to cut foreign aid. I believe in order to look after other people, we should look after ourselves. I think our people must be put first, particularly as it pertains to security.”

Was he surprised he won in what he describes as a Labour stronghold?

“I was. I didn’t expect to win. Dorothy (Kirk, who stood down at the last election) has been a friend of the family for years.

"I was surprised because she’d won by such fantastic margins each time she got elected. It was such a great shock and an honour to be put in such a position.”

Was there a side of him that thought, 'Oh s***, I’ve got to do it now'?

“Just because I didn’t expect to win, it doesn’t mean that I wasn’t in many ways getting ready for the fact. It didn’t really set in until a week later when I started all the training. Up until a week before, I’d been working behind a bar at the Tavistock Inn five days a week.”

With Reform winning the most seats on the council but not enough for majority leadership, does he feel the party has been hamstrung by the opposition?

“I don’t necessarily think it’s fair. I think it’s unfortunate that we weren’t given more of a hand in governing Cornwall.

"In many ways, for me, it’s nice to sit in opposition and scrutinise, but it is a shame because we did get the most seats at the end of the day.”

Does he think he’s had enough life experience to make decisions for the people of Cornwall?

“While I’m a young person, I don’t think that means I don’t have the capacity to learn. I think certainly having people of different ages sitting on the council ensures an element of diversity of thought.

"It shouldn’t be the case that politics is dominated by one particular demographic. There needs to be different perspectives from people of all ages, walks of life and backgrounds.

“I think in order to encourage more people of Generation Z to get involved in politics, they have to feel represented because there are so many people of my generation who take a backseat. While they may have certain beliefs, they don’t necessarily turn up and vote.

"Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with someone, if you can relate to them on the basis of their age, you’ll be more likely to get involved and I welcome that.”

Would he like to be leader of Cornwall Council one day? “I don’t know about that. I’ve only just got here. I would love to make a career out of politics, but it’s very early on to make decisions.”

How about becoming Cornwall’s Nigel Farage? Is he a political hero for Angus?

“He’s certainly someone who got me involved and interested. I’m very young and new to it, I’m quite content to spend the next four years learning and doing all I can in my patch. My priority first and foremost will be my division.”