We speak to Lance Symonds, a young green, and general election candidate about his experiences standing in North Cornwall.
Tell us a little bit about yourself ?
“My name is Lance Symonds; I’m 20 years old, currently studying for a law degree at Chichester University, and I stood in the constituency of North Cornwall during the general election in July of this year.
I have lived in Cornwall, particularly the town of Bude, aside from my time at university, all of my life. I’ve been involved in a lot of LGBTQ+ activist work in my teenage years, and I have also coordinated and had other committee executive roles in Cornwall Green Party.”
What was your favourite experience of standing in the general election, and what was the most challenging?
“The greatest experience I had, apart from the whole experience itself, which was a complete honour to do and I’m very, very happy I did, was the hustings. Both on BBC radio, which was put on the BBC i player for their Your Voice, Your Vote, and also in person hustings in Launceston. Both of these I enjoyed significantly and only received positive feedback.
In terms of the biggest challenge, I would have to say the anxiety of how unpredictable it all was. We had all sorts of opinion polls and predictions, either nationally or in specific seats, where the results varied so significantly, and the difference in the number of vote share predictions meant that I had no idea what was going to happen; that all just made me really nervous.”
What kind of preparation was necessary for your hustings?
“The two hustings I did were very different experiences. One of them being recorded on TV, there was a lot more preparation in terms of letting us know what was going on more specifically. This hustings was a lot more limited time-wise and also had all six candidates present. However, during the hustings held in person in Launceston, the Conservatives and Labour didn’t attend, which meant the rest of the candidates had more time. They actually took in live audience questions, and it wasn’t recorded, so the majority of the setup was less formal and consisted of giving us mics and figuring out where we were sitting.”
How did you find the process of becoming a general election candidate, and did you feel supported in this experience?
“That’s actually an incredibly long story! I originally joined the Green Party because I wanted a left-wing party that was united in its views. Other parties, it seems, are constantly fighting about what they actually believe in; meanwhile, there’s a sense of identity here. I joined the Green Party as a member in 2020 and later came into contact with someone who worked in the local party, and they mentioned the vacancy in the general election seats. At the time, I was around 16 or 17, which obviously is a big decision to make, but I was already so mentally prepared and really wanted to just take it on right then and there. So the year after, I made it clear that I would run as a candidate.
Eventually, I got selected to be the North Cornwall general election candidate at the age of 18. I want to thank the people in the local party for all their advice and support, such as filling out the forms and paperwork, preparing me for debates and hustings, making sure that my public speaking was on point, and all the mental support that was given.”
Is there anything you would have differently, or would change if you were to stand again?
“I have actually already stated that I will be standing again in the same seat in 2029.
I believe my constituents deserve that from me; they deserve someone to represent them. Cornwall has been a very ignored region of the United Kingdom, and we’ve been side-lined on a lot of issues and had our budgets cut because they’ve decided to make this different national plan for us. We need the proper representation to speak up for us so that we can actually solve the major issues that we have down here as residents. So I want to deliver that, and I really would love to do that again.
As for things I would do differently, I would definitely work on getting more people involved in terms of door-knocking and canvassing. Being able to give it more effort and resources than I did this year, I would love to do so much more next time.”
Why do the Green Party and its policies need to be represented in your constituency?
I think there’s something local to be said about what linked the Green Party to me and the Cornish people.
It’s very hard to afford housing right now because of the number of second homes and holiday homes that take up the space, meaning we have fewer houses available, which means they become more expensive, and rents have been increasing like crazy. The water sewage is also ridiculous because we pride ourselves on having really clean and beautiful seasoned beaches, only for these water companies to be dumping tons of sewage in them, with five of our six previous Cornish MPs all essentially voting to allow this.”
What do you want to see from our 4 MPs, particularly for young people?
“I think that what they are currently doing is speaking out against the government and holding them accountable, which is exactly what they had promised to do in the run up to the election. It was exactly how we said we were going to make changes in the country for constituents and for the United Kingdom as a whole. I personally would love to see and hope that the voting age is lowered to 16 as well as a voting system change. I’m glad to know that the national service plan isn’t going to be happening because that was….interesting”
I also want to see it become easier to figure out living in general because, once I finish university, trying to figure out where I’m going to live is a scary thought. There’s no way I would be able to get a mortgage, so I would have to rent. And if there’s not enough rent controls on landlords, I’m going to be in serious trouble affording a lot of things.”
What would you say to young people thinking about standing in the next general or local election, or looking to get involved in green politics more generally?
“I think that a large part of it is getting those who are very passionate to stand in those areas. There’s also a lot of refinement in your technique and what your role is during the campaigning process. Working on and practicing this is vital. When I had decided to stand, I knew for a fact that I had to work on making sure I remained composed in debates and stayed on target to get my actual point across while still being able to deliver a form of charisma when talking to constituents about what they needed to hear.
So an important part is making sure that you’re always practising. You’re always training towards making sure you can give the best you can to your constituents.
A lot of us that are standing, it’s not always just because of the view that ‘politics is fun’ and we’re really interested in it. I’m sure for a lot of us that’s true, it’s true for me, but some of us are doing this because we feel like we have to and that we’re running out of time. So we’ve got to make sure that we are giving it the best effort we can.”
If you have any further questions for Lance, you can find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085350531941
Wherever young people’s lives may take them, the Young Greens are there to represent and advocate for their needs, views and wants, championing the rights of students and young people aged up to 30 across England and Wales. We’re working hard on getting more Greens elected. If you haven’t already, join us, and let’s make it happen.