For the past 12 years, I’ve had the honour and privilege to serve as a Borough Councillor for my ward of Weaver & Cuddington on Cheshire West & Chester Council. I will miss being a Councillor, working with residents and my fellow Councillors however I felt it was time for a break but I have been asked by quite a few people why.
To use a planning analogy, its “cumulative impact” of a number of factors, each of them on their own were not enough but all of them added together made the decision for me.
I had been doing the role for 12 years, which is 3 full Council terms and almost a quarter of my life so far. In the months leading up to an election, I always have a few nerves about the commitment to another 4 year term but as we got closer to nominations this year, that feeling wouldn’t go away, I needed a break.
The role of the Councillor has changed in that period, as 4 years ago the reduction in the number of Councillors meant the ward increased in size. The split nature of the ward, also increases the workload due to inevitable duplication of work and less scope for cooperation in comparison to my first and second terms as a Councillor. The earlier decision of my friend and fellow Councillor Paul Williams to retire this year also was a factor.
The increasingly likelihood of a Labour majority on Council meant another 4 years in opposition, which is often very frustrating. There are many good Councillors across both sides of the Council but too often good ideas are being frustrated for political reasons. The fine words “we have more in common than divides us” are easy to say but more difficult to enact.
I have FSH muscular dystrophy which is a degenerative muscle wasting condition and it is a factor in decisions that I make.
The role of a Councillor takes up a lot of time but I enjoy it because, like most Councillors I know, regardless of party, I want to help others. I inherited this from my mother, a strong independent woman, who sadly passed away last Christmas after a long illness. As those who have suffered a similar loss, will know, such a loss can make you re-evaluate your priorities.
For the 12 years I’ve been a Councillor, I have been called a variety of names by residents, some more affectionate that others but the one I had liked the most was “Councillor Daddy” which was given to me by my wife and children.
I became known as Councillor Daddy when I was dealing with Council issues. Councillor Daddy was always very busy, off to evening meetings, dealing with phone calls, checking his e-mails, updating social media, bundling up leaflets or reading the Planning Committee papers on a Sunday afternoon.
As such, I decided it was time for a break, for Councillor Daddy to be put away for a while so, as the old political saying goes, I can “spend more time with my family”.
I would like to thank everyone who has supported me during the 12 years I have been a Councillor, most of all my family and especially my wife Vickie.
My experience over the 12 years I was a Councillor is that the workload increased over that time, primarily because Labour reduced the number of Councillors from 75 to 70 in 2019, a modest reduction but one nonetheless which increased the workload. At the same time our borough’s population has continued to increase. The reduction of numbers of Councillors increased the amount of time required to do the role properly. This makes it increasingly difficult for anyone like me of working age to be able to hold down a job and be a Councillor. This was my typical annual workload:
[Scheduled] 100 Meetings
5 x Full Council Meetings. 12 x Council Committee Meetings. 12 x Group Meetings
12 x Area update Meetings (my ward has issues relevant to both Rural and Northwich & Winsford Localities)
12 x Community Events. 50 x Parish Council Meetings (5 Parishes in my old ward)
Most of these meetings are in the evenings Monday – Thursday.
[Unscheduled] Casework
Constituent correspondence –
Planning Issues, Bins & recycling, Pot holes & highways, Speeding & car parking
Anti Social Behaviour. School placement / transport appeals
Mental health issues. Social welfare issues. Dog fouling
The level of casework fluctuates widely but can see big increases both at predictable time e.g. before Full Council or at any time, e.g. controversial planning applications, ASB.
When I started in 2011, a lot of correspondence was via Telephone & letters with e-mail quickly replacing those whilst over recent years Facebook / Messenger has increasingly become the dominant form of communication.
As such the old “9-5” basis of correspondence no longer exists and it is difficult to switch off, especially if something major occurs or even something minor that is nonetheless major to the constituent.
A lot of the “casework” involves “signposting” and that takes time as a Councillor to know where everything is, especially if it is a matter that isn’t really relevant i.e. not the responsibility of the Council but most Councillors will try to help.
This becomes increasingly acute during election periods, as you get the double whammy of much more interaction with constituents whilst at the same time more confined by “purdah” rules as what the Council can do in that period.
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Record at Cheshire West & Chester Council
Helping local community initiatives.
Working for local residents and representing their views on issues such as flooding.
Establishing and Chairing the Corporate Disability Access Forum
Helping the local community during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Encouraging the use of innovative technology e.g. calling for the Council to use more virtual meeting technology – 6 months before Lockdown began.
Ensuring Sandiway’s beloved Round Tower was re-built.
Raising the importance of pedestrian crossings for our communities.
Ensuring the Council has the opportunity to properly consider all factors when deciding on policies affecting our High Streets, Town and City Centres.
Holding the Council to account for the major decision it makes by ensuring it complies with its constitutional obligations.
Calling out the Council’s Cabinet for overtly political activity.
Reaching across political divides e.g. Labour’s Chair had to use a casting vote to prevent my election as Deputy Chairman of the Council in 2021, where I had the support of the LibDems and Independents.
Ensuring proper scrutiny of Council decisions.
Encouraging the adoption of Defibrillators in West Cheshire’s communities and schools.
Ensuring the Council adopted the Motor Neurone Disease MND Charter.
Speaking up on planning issues and the importance of new housing for the borough.
Speaking on behalf of residents at electoral boundary commission hearings.
