HE'S six, he's blind and he knows exactly what he wants - to be Prime Minister.

And Matthew Cooper's meeting with Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, this week is likely to spur him on even further.

The plucky Saxon Shore Infant School pupil from Portchester lost his sight at the age of six months.

But this has not curbed his aims in the slightest. Matthew is clearly a young man in charge of his own destiny.

Although he admits part of the pull of the top political job is to "boss people about", Matthew is already getting a track record for putting wrongs to right.

He said: "I couldn't reach the soap dispenser at school, so I said to the headteacher, 'How am I supposed to wash my hands if I can't reach the soap'."

Matthew has also been the cause of three trees being removed from outside his Kelvin Grove home: "I kept tripping up because the roots were pushing up the pavement."

The six-year-old lost his sight in an operation that saved his life.

His parents Alison and Tim, who both work for the NHS, were told their six-month-old son had developed a rare cancer in his eyes that would spread to his body unless they were removed.

His lack of sight does not stop Matthew from channel surfing and he is often to be found listening to the goings-on in the House of Commons broadcasts live on satellite TV.

The youngster has certainly picked up some of the lingo and halfway through the interview, he announced (a la Madam Speaker Betty Boothroyd):"I should like to call this meeting to order." he says firmly.

Politics isn't his only interest. Matthew would like to become the first DJ Prime Minister.

Recording interviews is something he loves doing. The idea was for him to be interviewed by me, but within ten minutes Matthew had turned the tables and was asking me (on tape) a hundred and one questions.

It seems he has got down to a fine art already the politician's knack of avoiding answering the questions himself.

He is not too sure exactly what he will say to David Blunkett when they meet.

One of his ideas is to cut holidays and allow playschemes to run for a week or so in the summer months when school, as far as he is concerned, could close. How Mr Blunkett will react to the idea could be interesting.

The visit to the Education and Employment Secretary has been arranged because Mr Blunkett is the patron of KIDS - the charity which helps special-needs children live independent lives.

A party from the local branch of the charity, based at Salterns Lane, Fareham, will meet the politician at the KIDS AGM in Westminster tomorrow.

Matthew and his family have been involved in KIDS for about two years.

They provide him with a one-to-one worker, which means he can attend activities outside of school.

Later this month he starts at the local Beaver group with the help of KIDS.

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