Leeds North West MP, Alex Sobel spent Friday afternoon with local budding politician Lois Priestley as she bids to become Leeds Children’s Mayor.
Miss Priestley, 10, attends Holy Name Catholic Voluntary Academy and was delighted to meet with the local MP and his team to discuss campaigning tips and the role of an elected representative. She joined him at his constituency coffee morning in Yeadon and also took part in his regular online Q an A ‘Ask Alex,’ where she fielded public questions about her campaign priorities.
Lois is passionate about reducing plastic in the world’s oceans and has made reducing Leeds’ plastic footprint a cornerstone of her campaign. She shares this passion with her local MP who has spent much of his first year campaigning on the issue and has even partaken in a plastic- free week.
Lois said: ““it was really fun doing the Facebook Live Q&A session with Alex Sobel. It’s so great to have his support because he knows so much. His tips and advice have been a huge help in my campaign to become Leeds Children’s Mayor.
It’s really hard to campaign across the summer holidays as lots of people, including me, are away. Social media has helped with this. Hopefully adults who see ‘Ask Alex’ will show their children and encourage them to vote (before the deadline of 19th September). I’ll be visiting lots of schools in September too. I really hope that people feel as passionate about this subject as I am, then we can make a real difference to our beautiful planet.”
Lois’ mum Anne Priestley said “I’m so proud of Lois. I didn’t even know she’d put forward for Leeds Children’s Mayor until I heard she’d got into the final! Lois loved watching David Attenborough’s Blue Planet programmes and they have had a huge influence on her wanting to reduce the amount of plastic being used in schools in Leeds.
She wants to get the message out to as many people as possible, so the support from Alex Sobel is fantastic. He has a lot of experience in this subject, and he knows that Lois wants to make a difference to plastic pollution in Leeds, even if she doesn’t quite make it to Children’s Mayor...but obviously, we all hope she does!”
Alex said: “ It was a great pleasure to meet Lois and hear about all of her fantastic ideas for our city. I was inspired to meet such an enthusiastic and driven young person who is determined to make the world a better place. The future is bright with young people like Lois.”