A 20-year-old student has become the youngest member of the City of London Corporation in its 800-year history.

Politics student Ibthayhaj Shadique Gani won election to the City this month, and will be the first Bengali to take a seat on its ruling Court of Common Council in the coming weeks.

Known as Shadique, he grew up in the City’s Portsoken ward, on the borough boundary with Tower Hamlets in Aldgate.

He said: “My parents stood outside the polling station from 8am to 8pm.

“My mum was too nervous to move. They are very supportive of me. They have seen me move from my diaper days to me in a suit.”

He campaigned for the Liberal Democrats in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency in 2010 – but has since left the Party.