In many parts of the UK, the backbone of the Labour party is its corps of local councillors. Where and how they run the local council will help shape views about the party itself. And at election times – and in between – it is the councillors who usually make up the core of the local activists, campaign organisers, foot-soldiers and door-knockers.
Yet, in common with all other parties, the Labour party is having problems getting good people to stand – or indeed continue – as councillors. Many people feel that government has neutered the town halls, treating them as the local delivery arm of whatever the centre decides. If you cannot do much to shape services in the way your community wants, then is there really any point in being a councillor?
Another aspect of the problem is that the party has not adequately addressed the task of identifying, nurturing and supporting potential council leaders and senior council members.
,p>The New Local Government Network recently worked with recruitment consultants Veredus to draw up an imaginary ‘recruitment pack’ for a council leader, including a job and person specification, similar to that used for the recruitment of a council chief executive. Entitled Valuing Political Leadership, the recruitment pack indicated the degree
of talent and ability that we now require of people in this position.
Council leaders need to understand all the issues facing local government, ranging from recruitment and e-government to the latest developments on children’s trusts and crime and disorder partnerships. They need to be able to attract and retain good senior officers and work well with them, and have decent relationships with the workforce and trade unions. They need to give a clear sense of direction to the overall work of the council and be able
to work well with many other groups ranging from voluntary organisations through local business to local partners such as health services and the police.
In addition, they need to be able to deal with the media, be the public face of the authority and, of course, know how to handle their political group. In short, leading a council is a tough and demanding job that requires able people. In many ways the job is more demanding, and more important, than that of an MP.
Labour is lucky in currently having a number of outstanding council leaders, such as Jane Roberts in London and Richard Leese in Manchester. But where selection for MPs is now carefully designed to ensure that people with talent are discovered and filter through to shortlists, little happens for councillors – let alone council leaders. And where MPs are given training and support, very little similar activity occurs with respect to locally elected members.
Of course, the restraints of capacity and finance limit what the Labour party machine can do. Certain limited support functions can be undertaken on an all-party basis by various arms of the government and of the Local Government Association. But it is surely unacceptable for the national party to ignore towns and cities where the local party is clearly in trouble, in terms of the calibre and experience of its councillors. In particular, there are some areas in which otherwise good councils have lost touch with their electorate, and where little attempt is being made to help put this right from regional or national party level. Loss of connection leads to disillusionment with local political parties and can create space for the worrying emergence of the BNP.
That is why we need to see a shift. At present, political parties think their main job is to get council candidates in place and the vote out. What happens afterwards is someone else’s job. All of this reflects a failure to recognise the fact that good councillors rarely happen by accident – they have to be identified, developed
and nurtured.
A new approach to recruitment of candidates also means addressing the issue of diversity – race, gender or disability, but also age and background. Diverse teams
of councillors will be able to make more informed decisions that better reflect our complex communities.
All of this is not to advocate greater centralisation, with Old Queen Street – any more than Smith Square or Cowley Street – having the ultimate say on who should be councillors. But the parties must recognise that councils, and especially their leaders, are often their closest and most direct connection to local electorates. Indeed, they are ambassadors of the party.
If we want to discover a new form of governance, one that connects with local people, delivers good community leadership as well as services, and shows that democracy really can make a difference, then working hard to encourage and support good local political leaders must be one of our uppermost priorities.
It is also likely to pay dividends for national politics.