Christopher Peter Smith, JP

Christopher Peter "Chris" Smith, JP (born 1 February 1986) is a British magistrate and member of the Conservative Party.

Early life

Smith was born in York, North Yorkshire and was educated at Millthorpe School in York. He currently attends Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, where he is studying Law, and was president of the York College Students' Union for a full term until 2004. During his term of office he became actively involved in politics, developing a moderately Conservative line of thinking. During his time as a student leader in York he actively fought for greater access to education and training for people from all educational and social backgrounds, arguing that entrance to courses should be based on ability alone. He did, however, spark controversy when at the NUS National Conference 2004 he argued that academic ability must be proven for entry to University, a scheme which would allow only the most able students to ProgresS to further education free of charge. As Student President he chaired a number of city-wide committees aimed at pooling the resources of all educational facilities in York together, and making them available to every student. He is also recognised for having made an invaluable contribution in the development of a new college at York College, which was due to open in 2006.

Early career

In 2004, Smith became the first student president in the UK to be invited to remain as a Governor of York College upon finishing his term of office. However, he did not remain as a Governor after this time and was replaced by Sofie Buckland (later of Education Not for Sale), his successor as President. After leaving office, he became widely sought after by public institutions and was nominated to replace the outgoing Conservative MP Anne McIntosh as a candidate for the Vale of York constituency at the next general election. He made it to the last two before the selection contest was postponed by new Conservative Leader David Cameron. He began working for York Youth Offending Team as a Community Panel Member responsible for administrering Referral Orders and quickly established a reputation as a hard-liner yet was often praised for his ability to communicate with younger people. It was from this position that was nominated by the Conservative Party to become a magistrate for York in the contest of 2005.

Magistracy

Smith made history on 1 April 2006, when he was sworn in as the youngest ever magistrate in England and Wales. This followed a change in the minimum age for holding office as a magistrate, which was reduced from 27 to 18 in 2004. Smith was aged 20 years 59 days upon taking office. His nomination was expected to be somewhat controversial but in the end was fully supported by all parties and nominating bodies. He once again quickly established himself as a hard-liner in enforcing the law, taking particularly tough stands against [...] use and anti-social crimes. His judgements have, on many occasions, emphasized his belief that [...] use is often a "slippery slope" to a life of crime and lack of personal development. Smith sparked a minor constitutional crisis when he expressed a desire to serve as a special constable, which sparked fears of a conflict of interests. In the end he was granted permission to seek such an appointment provided he served with the police in a different area to that in which he served as a magistrate, and has since made an application to Northumbria Police.