THE FUTURE of Swindon is in the hands of one of the youngest teams of councillors in the country.

Since last week's election, when the Conservatives took overall control of the council, several newly elected members have been promoted to positions of power.

In an attempt to harness their energy and enthusiasm, Tory leader Mike Bawden has created a whole new tier of posts to give them all something to do.

The ALMs or aides to lead members are modelled on the parliamentary private secretaries of Westminster jokingly known as ministers' bag carriers.

Their role will be to support the lead members in their specialist areas.

What sets Swindon Tories apart from other council groups across the country is their youth.

The average age of local councillors in the UK stands at 57.

But a significant proportion of Bawden's Babes are in their 20s and 30s.

Leading the charge of the young guns is Justin Tomlinson (Abbey Meads).

The party's prospective parliamentary candidate for North Swindon, who last week took over the Swindon Services portfolio, is just 27.

Coun Tomlinson, a former chairman of the party's youth wing, Conservative Future, is credited with persuading several of the younger councillors to stand for the Tories in Swindon.

Supporting him in his new role is 33-year-old Wayne Lawley (Haydon Wick).

Dale Heenan, 24, the newly elected member for Covingham and Nythe and the youngest councillor in the borough, becomes E-government champion.

Philip Sharp (St Philip), 30, has been given a supporting role in education.

And 38-year-old Peter Greenhalgh, who snatched Freshbrook and Grange Park from the Lib Dems last Thursday, has been appointed to the budget strategy task group.

The new intake will be joining the ranks of other Tomlinson Tots already on Swindon Council.

These include 27-year-old Glenn Smith, elected to Covingham and Nythe last year, who becomes ALM for cultural change, 24-year-old St Margaret councillor Chris Van Roon, who is to support the chairwoman of planning, and 27-year-old Debbie Baylies (St Philip), who said: "There is a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the group and we all get on well together.

"It's important to have young councillors to make us more representative of the electorate that we serve."

Coun Bawden (Old Town and Lawn), who was first elected councillor at the age of 26, said: "Young people are the future.

"They have different aims and different values."

The youngest Turk

At 24, Dale Heenan is Swindon's youngest councillor.

A web developer from Haydon Wick, Coun Heenan won Covingham and Nythe for the Tories last week.

He came to Swindon in 1998 to study communication and information systems at Cranfield University.

But instead of following his dad into the forces, Coun Heenan chose to stay in the town and use his computer skills to design websites.

Political hero: Norman Tebbit - because he speaks his mind.

Favourite music: Anything from opera to dance.

Greatest weakness: Talking too technically.

Favourite thing about Swindon: You have everything you need here for recreation and leisure.

Bonus fact: Dale is a qualified fitness instructor.

Favourite film: The Hunt for Red October

Andy Tate