My experience of local government

The experience of shadowing my local councillor was both informative and exciting and it has truly opened my eyes to the workings of government on a local level. Taking part in the programme has forced me to recognise that I knew very little about how the decisions affecting my own community are made, and that a vast amount of young people are, especially concerning local government, politically illiterate.

 Whatever the cause of the general apathy surrounding local government, the fact remains that attendance by the public, and in some instances elected representatives, to meetings can be woefully low. If members of the public saw their local councillor in action I am convinced they would be persuaded to use the power of their vote more carefully, and give genuine consideration to the competence of the individual they choose. It seemed to me that the misconduct of elderly councillors is considered permissible, and strong characters are often so intensely respected or feared that councillor’s vote in accordance to their whim, not their own integrity.

The experience of seeing paid, democratically elected, representatives rustle through council minutes to skim read a neglected report whilst a meeting is in session is a truly disheartening one for any individual who feels passionately about the decisions which affect their community. How is it possible to make an informed choice on the issue in such a brief time? In truth, it seems to me that many people are more interested in ‘toeing the party line’ than actually thinking about the implications for the people they are elected to represent. Even more distressing is the attitudes of some councillors towards their electorate. In one circumstance I saw an individual who made a reasonable request under the freedom of information act intimidated and cast away with scathing comments after she dared to question the conduct of the council. It is infuriating that I found some councillors so incredibly certain of their own re-election that they no longer saw the requirement to treat the public with courtesy or even to attempt to represent any opinion which extended beyond their own.

However, my experience was not an entirely negative one. I have also met genuinely principled individuals who are willing to work extremely hard in order to improve the lives of the people they represent. These people were willing to go above and beyond their duties to ensure they can work with the community to create more services, better facilities and a genuinely positive relationship between the council and the people it represents.

What I am taking away from my experience is a new determination to take a more active role in local politics, a desire to continue to attend meetings as a member of the public so I am informed on local issues and the inspiration to peruse a career in politics. It has been the fact that I have found some areas of the system to be so unfair and dysfunctional that has convinced me of the the need for enthusiastic young people to get involved in politics- the first step in creating a fresh, exciting and truly democratic system with an informed electorate.