THE youngest Conservative in Wiltshire, Paul Smith from Calne, is appealing for young people to join the party and have a voice in politics.

Paul, 16, of Penn Hill Road, wants to set up a young Conservatives group in the town and is appealing for youngsters aged between 15 and 25 to get involved in the party.

He said he feels the Conservatives needs a younger, cooler image. Paul said he had the full backing of the Calne branch of the Conservatives.

"The idea is to get young people together to organise events, promote the party and educate members in the mechanics of politics," Paul said.

"I'm hoping we can go to conferences, debates and influence more senior members in the party into giving the youth of Great Britain a say about what they want to see where they live."

Paul, who is taking his GCSEs this year, first became interested in politics at the age of 13 when his classmates at John Bentley School, in Calne, voted for him to represent his tutor group.

He was the youngest councillor in Calne's Young People's Town Council and later the youngest and longest- serving chairman of the group.

Paul said he joined the Conservatives in 2001 because he found he had similar values and standards and found members to be very friendly and welcoming. "I would like to be a full-time politician one day," he said.

"It's an important job and varied. But I think a lot of people have lost faith in politicians and it shouldn't be like that. I would like to restore people's trust and pride in politicians."