HAVE YOU CONSIDERED STANDING TO BE A LOCAL COUNCILLOR?

By Selina Seesunkur

I was elected in 2018 and, having been a Councillor for over 3 years, I have met some incredibly wonderful people, who rather selflessly help members of their community and make their towns a better place. They do not do this to pursue political aspirations or to further professional ones, they are genuinely the salt of the earth and I feel humbled to know them. I believe that, to change the face of politics, we need more people who are community-focused and fewer traditional cut-throat politicians. This might be an ideological statement to make because there is a point in every politician’s life where you have to fight to survive, whether it is to be re-elected for another term, or just to gain a place in the management team or cabinet. However, I truly believe the purest of community champions would win any day of the week, as they are winners to the people they were elected to serve.

Being a Councillor is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done, but can you be a community champion without entering politics? Yes, of course you can. We have quite a few residents who campaign because the Council have proposed something their community does not agree with, from developments to road closures. They petition, protest, and more.

So why become a Councillor if you can make a difference anyway? Well, there are things Councillors do that an activist or member of the public cannot do. In summary, if your Party is in control of the Council, i.e., they hold the majority of the seats, Councillors run the Council. This means they can set local policies, be part of a Cabinet that decides which schemes to run, and manage the public purse, (budget). If your party is in opposition, Councillors scrutinise the policies, schemes and budgets to ensure taxpayers’ money is being spent properly and in accordance with the needs of the community. Whilst Opposition Councillors have less power, they tend to petition and challenge more, and therefore can still make a significant difference.

Aerial Shot by Simon Taylor showing the land between the leisure centre and Larks Wood – 7th October 2020

In my borough (Waltham Forest, which is Labour controlled) the Council decided to propose a mature green forest space as a development site for over 200 homes. This would have replaced precious woodland with big blocks of flats. We had just entered lockdown, so traditional methods of gaining support, like door-knocking were off limits. Given this space was enriched with wildlife and mature trees, residents wanted to save the space, as did I. Once we had a consensus, my colleagues and I launched a petition and campaign “Save the Green Space”. Residents were so passionate about this space, we collectively gathered over 2,000 signatures and over 380 residents wrote letters to the Council. We were successful in saving this space, once known for its famous Larkswood Lido.

However, the story did not end there. A small Community Group, the Friends of Ainslie and Larks Wood (FOAL), teamed up with the Highams Park Plan Group and we all worked together on an application to designate the land as green open space, which would have protected it against future development. Given the overwhelming response by the public, the Council agreed to designate the space, meaning the space will not be built on during my lifetime and beyond. It is a legacy which will resonate with FOAL and me forever. It is moments like that which make me proud to be a Councillor. I was able to champion the cause with the Council as I was part of the Council and it was impossible for Officers and Councillors to ignore me. I was able to raise it at key meetings including Cabinet and the scrutiny committee and, because we were in lockdown, these meetings were televised, making it hard to ignore. If you have a bit of spare time and want to make a difference to your local area, please consider standing to be a Councillor, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of your lifetime.

Selina Seesunkur



REIGNITING FAITH IN LOCAL DEMOCRACY

CitizenLab is expanding its presence in the UK market in a bid to revive faith in democracy and drive up participation in local decision making. With an already well-established presence in mainland Europe, CitizenLab’s civic engagement technology is set to be embraced by local authorities and organisations across the UK following a series of successful citizen participation pilots. 

With campaigning for local elections on hold, traditional, in-person forms of political participation are currently impossible. CitizenLab’s technology allows people to make their voices heard in a safe and efficient way. The platform provides Governments, Local Authorities, and membership organisations with a ‘digital democracy toolbox’. The platform enables them to replace community meetings with virtual discussion forums, organise votes on suggested policy changes, or gather new ideas through surveying tools. 

The technology has already been piloted successfully by the London Borough of Newham. Using digital engagement tools, CitizenLab was able to provide an online portal where people who live, work, and visit Newham could participate actively in the decision making processes, which continued throughout the pandemic uninterrupted. Newham were able to gather hundreds of community views on a number of urban regeneration decisions across a four month period. 

The CitizenLab platform was founded by three Belgian millennials (Wietse Van Ransbeeck, Aline Muylaert, and Koen Gremmelprez), who discovered that, after leaving university and moving into new neighbourhoods, there were very few ways to get involved in community-related issues and local politics. They also found, despite 55% of citizens saying they would like to be involved in local decision-making, 83% say there is a lack of transparency in politics preventing them from doing so. Founded in Brussels 2015, the growing CitizenLab team comprises over 35 people based throughout Europe and the UK, and is a mix of developers and citizen participation experts.

CitizenLab_founders (1).jpg

CitizenLab’s technology has also been designed to drive up engagement amongst young people, who are statistically the least likely to get involved in local politics. A recent study from the University of Cambridge found that in almost every global region, it is among 18-34 year olds that satisfaction with democracy is in significant decline, with less than 50% of under 35s feeling confident in the current democratic system.

Speaking on the importance of trust within political engagement and the need for a continuation of democracy during this unprecedented time, Wietse Van Ransbeeck, CitizenLab Co-founder said:

“As millennials, we felt frustrated that there was, and still is, a communication and participation gap between citizens and their decision makers. The pandemic and recent political events within the UK and Europe has meant that this divide has never felt bigger. It’s vital that we find solutions before trust is eroded permanently.

“Our platform has been designed to not only engage with people in a more efficient and effective way, but also to allow citizens and communities to continue to be heard, and collect relevant data about citizens’ priorities. We believe that empowering citizens can help governments make better decisions, improve trust and strengthen democracy.”