Article 1 for The Review By Harold Beck

AN  INDEPENDENT  VIEW

Why do people become Councillors? This question is often put to elected members of local authorities and is sometimes accompanied by a knowing assertion that there must be something in it for them.  Who in their right mind would give their time and talents as well as put up with at least occasional frustration and ridicule if they did not get a great deal out of it for themselves?

The reasons are very diverse.  For some, election as Councillor represents the culmination of long-laid plans to become persons of note in the locality - to obtain status or to stick their heads out above the crowd.  Others find themselves Councillors by accident, as for example did one person who was persuaded to stand as a means of taking his mind off personal problems.  The persuasion was coupled with an assurance that there was no chance whatsoever that she would be elected.  The prediction was quite wrong and so a new Councillor emerged.  Many seek election to serve the community in which they live, to act as its voice and to help solve the problems of individual electors.  Another basic motive is the serving of a political party - to promote its cause through local government by applying political ideologies to all its activities.  Probably most become Councillors through a combination of some of these different reasons but with different emphases, perhaps one putting the party reason first, another giving priority to personal ambition, a third to helping others and so on.

There is something in it for Councillors, not only in fulfilling their motivations for being elected but in the sense of achievement when a particular project comes to fruition or through a sense of belonging to a corporate body.  Indeed, being a Councillor for many years can to some become a way of life, hard to give up and a cause of considerable distress if they are not re-elected.

Most Councils comprise a mixture of retired people, housewives, those in paid employment and, in these difficult days, the unemployed.  Most Councillors have a job to do and the relationship of their normal work to Council work can vary a great deal.  Too much time devoted to Council work can lead at the least to lost opportunity for promotion and even in a few instances to demotion, dismissal or redundancy.  Some employers grudgingly accept involvement in Council work on the part of their employees, some have a tolerant or indulgent attitude towards it.  In one case in a neighbouring county a large organisation positively encouraged its budding top managers to take part in local government to widen their viewpoint and develop skills in relating to a wide variety of people.

Whatever their day to day activities are, Councillors can bring numerous job skills and training to bear on local government problems.  Accountants and solicitors come to mind as the most immediately relevant but there are many other opportunities for transfer of work experience to Council activities.  There are some drawbacks to the linking of job with Council work however.  Experience in a specialist field can have a conditioning effect.  A certain way of thinking or an approach to problems or relationships can become ingrained and a Councillor may unconsciously try to apply such experience to a local government situation where it is inappropriate.  For example, an industrialist may see his relationships with Councillor colleagues in hierarchical terms whereas in the sight of the electorate all Councillors are equal.  Probably not enough thought has been given to the

(Transcribing from the original copy was interrupted at this point, then the original was mislaid or lost.  Possibly the only full copy of the original is in The Review archives).