He has mixed in the highest of political circles, but now Mark Spiro is doing his best to make a stand against mainstream politics.
Twenty-year-old Mr Spiro will run as an independent candidate in next year’s Camden Council elections.

However, it was not so long ago that Mr Spiro, a former chair of Hampstead Town ward for the Conservatives and member of the Tories’ general election team, was passionate about big-party politics.

He was the youngest speaker at a Conservative party conference since William Hague. Mr Spiro was 17 at the time. What’s changed? He tells People: “I got quite close to the Tories and saw things that I didn’t like. Career politicians are completely the wrong people to represent us, especially in light of the MPs’ expenses scandal.

“The whole thing is really frustrating, but you can either sit back and complain or do something about it.”

He adds: “When running for council, Parliament or anything else, you have two situations: where you pick the time, or where the time picks you. If you had told me a few months ago I would be running for the council I would never have believed you. But sometimes you have to step up. Only time will tell if it is going to pay off but I am going to do my best to make sure it does.”

Mr Spiro’s ideas include getting the late license of the local 24-hour American diner, Tinseltown, revoked, preserving the town’s green space, introducing one-hour free parking, letting the residents vote on big issues, and petitioning to keep the local police station open.

A student at Regent’s Business School London, he is keen to get younger people involved and has the support of pupils at JFS, UCS and Channing. He lives in Hampstead.