There is a wide range of skills required to be both an accomplished campaigner and then, once elected, to be an effective councillor. We will not be giving away our campaigning secrets here but visitors may be interested to read about the diverse role we fulfill and to understand some of the conflicts that can be involved in our work.
A councillor’s role can be seen as covering a number of areas:
Ward representative
The primary role of a councillor is to represent the ward and the individual citizens who live within it. For those who are members of political parties, that Party will offer advice and guidance on the representative role. For all councillors, activities at a local level should include holding surgeries and representing the community within the council and to other agencies.
Decision maker
Councillors also have a part to play in helping to make decisions that have an impact not only in their ward but also across the whole council. They will be involved in decision-making in such diverse places as the full council, voluntary organisations, school boards and staff appointments.
Policy and strategy review and development
Being an elected member means that councillors can influence both the development and review of the council’s policy and strategy. They can contribute to the policy processes through their role with the scrutiny function, advisory groups and committee and in their interaction with executive members.
Overview and scrutiny
Councillors have always been required to scrutinise the council, and overview and scrutiny is a natural extension of the representation role. In the past, formal scrutiny was the responsibility of service committees. Public interest in the proceedings and decisions of their local council often left councillors in the situation of raising issues with colleagues in a rather haphazard way. The overview and scrutiny process has now become more clearly defined and distinct and is a key function for accountable democracy to occur.
Regulator
Local authorities are not just service providers, they also regulate certain activities. This involves councillors in quasi-judicial roles on special committees appointed directly by the council, e.g. planning and licensing committees. Most councils arrange special training for councillors undertaking quasi-judicial roles.
Community leader and networker
Community leadership is at the heart of the role of modern local government. Councils are the best-placed organisations to take a comprehensive overview of the needs and priorities of their local areas and communities and lead the work to meet them. But the modern local authority can only function through active partnerships with other organisations. Councillors may exercise community leadership clear communication with the huge variety of formal and voluntary organisations.