Now that I’m back in London and fully immersed into the routine of work and evening council meetings, I promise this blog won’t be just about Peter Mandelson. But just one final point of clarification: I came back from conference with the words of his speech ringing in my ears: ‘We need to think like insurgents, not incumbents. To challenge. To argue for change. To campaign.’ The election machine is cranking into gear in Hackney, we have our targets, a risograph and the canvassing dates in the diary from now until May.
Spending the weekend on an IDeA course for young councillors fuelled my optimism even further. This is basically a cross party group therapy session. It’s an opportunity to talk about being a councillor, with other councillors, led by people who used to be councillors and get that out of your system in a safe space away from normal people. I emerged with another list of bullet points for my ward.
Then this week, I had two nights in a row of scrutiny commission meetings, where due to bad timing, dinner consisted of orange juice and a packet of crisps and decided that I needed an urgent ‘Remaining Sane Strategy’ to overarch all other campaign strategies and action plans to see me through the next six months.
I recently canvassed views from other councillors about how to combine eating healthily with evening meetings. The general consensus was you can’t, but do try and carry a banana with you wherever you go. And resist the temptation to have fried chicken on the way home.
The Council provides fairtrade biscuits at the Town Hall which means you can track the varying sugar levels of councillors during the course of a meeting. We start with a fairly rational and considered debate – last night we discussed anti social behaviour on estates in Hackney and listened carefully to a presentation from the police on secured by design.
Then biscuits are consumed and the pitch rises. More probing questions are asked. Maybe even the odd raised voice. At this point, the councillors in the room make it clear to Hackney Homes and the representatives from Registered Social Landlords that the service given to residents who complain is inadequate. We won’t be fobbed off with performance management targets – we want action and a commitment to improve responses to low level ASB.
Then the biscuit effect wears off and the focus wanes. You start dreaming about savoury meals with meat and vegetables. The Chair asks ‘Does anyone want to extend standing orders?’ ‘NO’ comes the resounding response from the floor, the remaining business is completed and we rush out of the Town Hall into the dark night.
There’s a more serious point in all of this – about balancing the demands of full time work, local meetings, the Town Hall and being an effective community councillor. The report of the Councillor’s Commission from 2007 identified the issue, but changing working practices of local authorities is a slower process. Hackney is part of a pilot looking at implementing some of the report’s recommendations – the provision of biscuits wasn’t under consideration, but we are moving towards being a more ‘member led’ authority in recognition of the different roles and responsibilities that councillors have to juggle and how the local authority itself can best support that.
Louisa Thomson is Labour councillor for Stoke Newington Central in the London borough of Hackney