Two weeks after Wanstead's dramatic council by-election, the Guardian caught up with new councillor Alex Wilson to find out how he is settling in.

CONSERVATIVE Cllr Alex Wilson certainly has his work cut out over the next year. Two of his fellow Tory representatives in Wanstead are expected to take up cabinet posts later this month, while a third - Cllr Thomas Chan - will serve as the borough’s mayor over the following 12 months.

However the freshed-faced newcomer, who at the age of 25 is now the youngest councillor in Redbridge, is confident he can cope with the pressure while his colleagues get to grips with their new roles.

“The last few weeks have been brilliant,” he told the Guardian. “It’s been quite busy and I know I will have a lot of work to do but I’m sure the other councillors will still work hard for the ward.”

Cllr Wilson, who lives in Camden Road, has already got stuck in to the job by meeting with the Wanstead Society and the Counties Residents Association (CRA) over the controversial Chepstow saga, which has seen residents and property developers Telford Homes clash over plans to build 24 new flats and houses on the site of a former historic home.

At a meeting last week, Cllr Wilson made his first speech as a councillor arguing for a re-think on the plans.

He said: “I thought I’d be really nervous, but when I stood up to speak it felt great. Unfortunately the committee didn’t reject the proposals but we did manage to convince them to look at it again.

“I look forward to meeting with the Wanstead Society and the CRA again in future, it’s just so positive working with them.”

Another high priority is to “keep up the pressure” on seeing through the building of a new science block for Wanstead High School.

The result of the by-election is still fresh in Cllr Wilson’s memory - especially when you consider his full-time job is to help analyse election data for the national Conservative party HQ.

He said: “It’s always tough when you’re defending a seat, especially when you’re defending an administration in power.

“The Lib Dems are in a fortunate position where they can attack both a Conservative council and a Labour Government at the same time, but I think most of their gains came from people who previously supported Labour and the Greens.”

In the meantime, Cllr Wilson is still coming to terms with his new job.

“It feels a bit strange to be called councillor, but I’ll get used to it,” he added.