On 17th October I was very pleased to welcome 15 year old Justin Cole as Lewisham's Young Mayor.

At the results ceremony in the Council's Civic Suite Justin, from Crofton School, was announced as the winner with 1,984 votes. The new deputy Young Mayor was announced as Naz Ramadan,15, from Sydenham School.

It's wonderful to see our young people continuing to engage with democracy and the positive impact this has had in Lewisham. I'm very proud of the fact that, as an MP for Lewisham, this is a borough that is continuing to lead the way in giving young people a voice.

• In total 8,316 youngsters voted in the election - representing a 45% turnout of young people who are eligible to vote. This is a rise of 2% on last year.