A record 73 per cent of the borough’s young people turned out to vote in this year’s Newham Young Mayor election.

The turn out is an increase of 12 per cent on last year’s election.

Thousands of pupils from the borough’s 22 secondary schools cast their vote with competition closely fought to win the 2014 vote.

Jonathan Bennett, 15, was elected the seventh Young Mayor of Newham. He attends Cumberland School in Canning Town and received 1,320 votes.

His key manifesto promise was to ensure access to worthwhile opportunities for young people in the borough and ensure young people can generate their own personal income.

Adam Khaliq, 16, from Langdon School in East Ham was declared the Deputy Young Mayor. He came a close second with 1,294 votes.

The Young Mayor will be allocated a budget of £25,000 and he along with the youth council will decide how the money is spent including local projects providing activities for young people.

Jonathan said: “I see this as a fantastic opportunity to make a difference to the lives of young people in the borough.”

“I want to ensure that Newham’s young people are consulted and involved in decisions affecting them and that they can access opportunities that will benefit them in the long run”.

Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales said: “Our Young Mayor initiative is vital to ensuring that our young people are involved in democracy.

“We have one of the longest running programmes and it gives young people an understanding of the process as well as the opportunity to develop and lead on initiatives that will benefit other young people.”