This time last year I was engrossed in the final weeks of the by-election campaign in my ward, spending every evening on the doorstep and wondering what the chances were of emerging unscathed from the local hustings event. This means I’ve been a councillor for almost a year, which is a good excuse to pause for reflection.
I think the past year can roughly be condensed into three categories: the highs, the lows and the downright bizarre.
The highs have all been local ward campaigns. At times it can feel like getting action over an issue is a slow and cumbersome process, especially as a backbencher with only evenings and weekends to devote to council work. But there have been cases where persistence (or, some might say, an irritating tendency to write stroppy emails) paid off – from a consultation that is now happening to improve a park in my ward, to two block of flats that have been included in the decent homes programme after a long wait.
The things that give me most satisfaction are these very local issues that needed councillors to advocate and lobby to get things changed. On the other hand, this has turned me into a sad nerd who can’t walk down a street in Stoke Newington without a running commentary: ‘Ah Amhurst Road. Yes, here we have problems with police sirens and intermittent rubbish collection…’ As you can imagine, this makes me a delight to go out with locally.
The lows are fewer. I can cope losing a large part of my social life because, despite the grumbling, I do love being a councillor, and I still have a lot to learn about the role. After all the effort of last month’s ward Christmas card, getting a few back through the post with abusive messages scrawled across our picture was a little trying, but the canvass data has now been adjusted accordingly.
The bizarre incidents have mainly come from living in my ward and the sometimes unpredictable and unexpected situations you can find yourself in: someone complaining about the sound of my heels on the pavement whilst walking home from the pub; being cornered in the local newsagent at the height of the expenses scandal; nervously giving a reading at the carol service at the local church; the number of Green activists I see shopping in Tesco’s…
And now to 2010. A shaky start, thanks to the snow, and Yet Another Failed Coup from our comrades at Westminster. But we’re still getting a good reception on the doorsteps of Stoke Newington. We have a strong message in Hackney about the improvements a Labour council has made over the last eight years and residents have noticed the difference. At a time when trust in politicians is being tested, local councillors have emerged relatively unscathed, partly because we are working at the very local level speaking about day-to-day issues that you see outside your front door. So really, my resolutions for 2010 are simple: keep working hard, keep listening to residents, campaign on the local issues that matter most to people and get re-elected!