AS DORSET waited for the results of yesterday’s county council elections one candidate is hoping to prove that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.

Schoolboy Thomas Anderson was hoping to be announced as the county councillor for the Beaminster ward today and, at just 18, he certainly has youth on his side – although he has been having to juggle election campaigning with exam revision.

The Thomas Hardye School pupil said: “I’ve been a member of the Labour party locally since the age of 16.

“I think local party politics is a chance to make a difference and to put something back.

“I don’t think age really matters any more, too often people are put into categories of how old they are.

“Age doesn’t matter, what matters is how competent you are.”

Thomas lives in Dorchester but says he is familiar with the issues facing Beaminster and thinks that, like other areas, it could benefit from being represented by a younger generation.

He said: “Quite a few of my friends live in Beaminster so it’s a place I know quite well and it’s got a few issues that need sorting out.”

Thomas is currently in the middle of exams for four A-levels and plans to study politics and economics at York University, although he may first take a gap year to work with the Bank of England.

However, if he was to find out today that he was elected to serve as a county councillor, he admits his academic work may have to take a back seat for a while.

He said: “I think I would have to put my studies on hold for a little bit if I did get elected.”

Thomas only turned 18 in April, just six days before the window to register as an election candidate closed and says that he could be the youngest candidate in the country.

Thomas says he has managed to fit his campaigning in around his exam revision and, although he has enjoyed the experience and would relish the chance to serve on the county council, he doesn’t envisage a long-term career in politics.

He said one of his main campaigning issues has been education where he would like to see the standard of education he has experienced first-hand at Thomas Hardye’s more widely available.