Last week was Local Democracy Week. Here in Oldham we have a whole range of events with local people and organisations highlighting the work that councillors do to represent their interests and encourage more people to become involved in local politics. This is par for the course here in Oldham. Our council meeting is broadcast live on webstream and individuals can also text or tweet their questions live to cabinet members. Over 800 local citizens regularly log in to watch these deliberations. Later this year every councillor will present an annual report to their electorate on what they have achieved as councillors.

Needless to say none of this was highlighted in the national press. Coverage of politics is fixated by events and gossip in parliament. Don’t get me wrong I value the work that MPs do. Here in Oldham in Michael Meacher, David Heyes and Debbie Abrahams we have three hard-working local members. But I know that as leader of the council I can do more than a government minister to shape and improve the lives of Oldhamers. Even in these difficult times we have through imagination and hard work kept jobs in the town that would have gone overseas, overseen a huge investment in the town centre and, through a groundbreaking ‘Get Oldham Working’ initiative, seen youth employment reduced by 40 per cent in the last 12 months. I take great pride in what we have achieved as a Labour council. Yet in conversations at a national level I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked when I am going to stand for parliament.

For Labour this obsession with parliament produces additional problems in terms of representation. Seeking selection as an MP seems to have become a full time occupation and one that those with existing parliamentary connections and an early university education have a massive competitive advantage. Ultimately it means that many of our natural supporters no longer feel that becoming a Labour MP is something that they and their families can aspire to achieve. The research that Gloria De Piero did recently this year showed a huge disconnect between national politicians and working-class communities (and an 18 per cent turnout in the recent Manchester Central by-election indicates the scale of the problem). Plus we know that an excessive centralisation is one of the major problems of our economy and society, with too many decisions being made in London with little reference to the needs and interests of the rest of the country (the fact that bus fares outside the capital still remain unregulated even after 13 years of a Labour government is a prime example).

So we need to rebuild our local politics and encourage those with potential and talent in politics to contribute locally. We have to have a clear programme for decentralisation of power and influence as part of manifesto preparations for the 2015 general election and I welcome the opportunity offered by the Local Government Innovation Task Force announced at party conference.  We have to be fully prepared for the onslaught from the estimated 20,000 lobbyists who prefer all the decisions to be made in the Westminster mile. That is going to be a big job for the LGA Labour Group over the next 12 months.

But we also have to fundamentally change the perception that sadly exists for too many in the Labour party that local politics is the training ground and parliament the real deal. Just look at the fringe agenda at very Labour party conference- full of academic and self-acclaimed experts but you will struggle to hear more than a handful of Labour councillors at our own conference.

The work being undertaken by Arnie Graf is encouraging, although why his Movement for Change has to based in London is a mystery to me. Here in Oldham we haven’t waited for others and have developed a Labour Apprentice Scheme that provides a 12-month structured programme that encourages young people in the town that share our values to learn more about politics and become more involved in the party. I would like to think that every local party and Labour group could do the same over the next few years.

As leader Ed Miliband has made clear that the next general election will represent a fundamental break with ‘politics as usual’. Restoring civic pride and the ability of local people to improve their own lives and communities will be a major contribution to the new politics.

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Jim McMahon is leader of Oldham council and a member of the LGA Labour Group executive. For more information on the Oldham Apprentice Scheme please contact us. He tweets @CllrJimMcMahon

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Photo: purplemattfish