Find out about what is involved in being a local councillor.
This video was produced by Oxfordshire County Council and funded by Improvement and Efficiency South East.
A new councillor becomes the latest ambassador for the ‘Be a Councillor’ campaign to encourage others to stand for local election.
Councillor Nadia Cenci from Ipswich Borough Council will feature on her story on the campaign website posing the question – ‘what will you stand for?’ and challenging others to follow in her footsteps and become a local councillor.
People get involved for all sorts of reasons, from being involved in campaigns, caring deeply about a local issue, or just wanting to contribute to their local community. Standing for election as a local councillor gives people the opportunity to not just talk about issues that affect your community, but to get involved in doing something positive about them.
Councillor Cenci says: “What inspired me to become a councillor was concern about the rise of illegal drugs and binge drinking. As a mother I knew the effect of peer pressure on young people, how damaging drugs could be and how they were a national problem. I also knew they were a symptom and not the root problem, and I knew the real problems could be tackled locally.
I spent nearly three years campaigning and helping with elections, before being elected. Now I’ve been a councillor for five years and I am the portfolio holder for communities and community safety. I’m over the moon because I’m doing what I want to be doing and working in the areas I’m passionate about…
There’s a great satisfaction in being there for people who call for help, being able to show them the way, empower them to deal with the system and getting results for them.”
Read Councillor Nadia Cenci’s story here
Visit the www.beacouncillor.org.uk/east to get a better idea of what it’s like to be a councillor, and how to go about getting involved. It has details of the real-life experiences of some of our local East of England councillors, as well as a host of further information about how to contact local political parties, where to find information about standing for your local council, and standing as an independent candidate.
There is a huge amount of useful information on the web about what its like to be a councillor, along with tips and advice on taking the next steps.
Below councillors talk about why they took on the role and their experiences working with communities and their local councils.
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) have produced a handy guide to standing as a parish or town councillor. The guide gives you a brief insight into the role of parish and town councils, as well as providing specific advice and information on how to become a town or parish councillor.
There are over 80,000 community, parish and town councillors across England. These councillors serve electorates ranging from small rural communities to major cities.
You could be one of them! Read the guide here.
The NALC website is also a useful way to find out more about local town or parish councils.
What have drug abuse, dangerous road junctions, disputes over naming new developments and being a school governor have in common? They are all among the reasons why councillors talking at the latest Be a Councillor event stood for election the first time.
In that last of the current series of events, held at the Corn exchange in Ipswich yesterday, the audience heard about the many diverse and differing ways people have become councillors. They were also given insights to what it’s like being a councillor, the diversity of issues and challenges faced, and how being a councillor can be fitted in to a full working and family life.
Cllr Nadia Cenci from Ipswich Borough Council explained how she had become involved because of concerns about drug abuse, and had put herself forward after receiving a questionnaire form her local party. She said “Time is an issue and it is always a juggling act, but being a councillor is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. The casework varies and you feel that you are learning something new every week. I’ve also learnt a lot about myself.”
Cllr Kathy Pollard from Suffolk County Council got involved after campaign for safety improvements for a local road junction. She says the most important aspect of being a councillor is that “you have to care about people. Ensure people feel that their views count. Individual councillors can give more or less of their time to the role, it is different if you are in full time employment for instance, but everyone can make their contribution and make a difference. I have no regrets about being a councillor and I am never bored!”
Cllr Alasdair Ross explained how he had grown up in an active political family, but got into local politics as a result of being a school governor. He commented that being a governor is a good way to get involved in local communities and their issues. He also remarked on looking after individual constituents needs: “When it comes to casework, politics are forgotten. It’s all about helping people, getting the right people to help, knowing who the right Council officer is to talk to.
Cllr Peter Jones of Babergh District Council is also a parish councillor at Copdock & Washbrook Parish Council and he talked about the differences of working at the more local level. He was keen to emphasise the support available for new councillors at both levels and how it was possible to stand as an independent candidate. He covered some of his favourite achievements as a councillor, including getting a bypass moved to a route that disrupted less villages, and acquiring the site for a new village hall. He said: “There are no set hours. It’s definitely not just committee meetings. It can be a very varied existence at times.”
The ‘Be a Councillor’ meeting at the Cambridge Guildhall on Thursday provided fascinating accounts of what life is like as a councillor.
Four councillors from different councils, parties and backgrounds gave guests a real insight to their lives. They discussed their motivations for becoming councillors in the first instance, and demonstrated in a nutshell the fact that people get involved for a wide range of different reasons. Councillor Michael Gage recalled how he had been motivated by a proposal to site a new road close to a local school. Having been involved as a campaigner on this single issue, he went on to stand for election and has been a councillor for many years since.
Cllr James Hockney of South Cambs explained that his interest in party political issues had drawn him into contact with his local party and he had been invited to stand as a candidate. Once in office, he says that he soon realised that “politics definitely comes second. What’s vital is representing all the people in your ward to the best of your ability”
Susannah Kerr, a Cambridge City Councillor, was inspired to become involved after living in Japan for a couple of years and noticing the contrast in their local government systems, compared top those in the UK. “I realised that our system provides much more opportunity for anyone to get involved, and I wanted to represent the interests of the people in the area where I grew up and live.”
Cllr Lewis Herbert, also of Cambridge City Council said, “People think of typical councillors as white, male and middle aged, or retired. We need a range of councillors that reflect the range of people in all our wards. The most important thing for a councillor is enthusiasm and determination.”
Time is running out to book your place on the Be a Councillor event being held at the Bedford Corn Exchange, on the 23rd Feb.
This is your chance to hear directly from current councillors about their experiences and find out more about how to become a councillor. This will be an informal evening meeting, and current councillors will be there to share their experiences with you. Afterwards you will also be able to talk to them about their party selection processes and also to someone about standing as an independent or for one of the smaller parties.
For more details and booking instructions visit the Be a Councillor Website
