Formally recognising the status and importance of the councillor as an elected representative in law would help prevent Covid leading to increasing centralisation, writes the emeritus professor of local politics at De Montfort University.
In a report approved by the governance committee of the Council of Europe, a 47-member pan-European body, I set out how councillors face two possible futures.
The first is a ‘doomsday scenario’ in which increasing centralisation (especially in response to the Covid pandemic) and the fragmentation of the landscape of public services and governance continues to diminish councillors’ standing, roles, and responsibilities. The second is ‘sunlit uplands’ where national and regional governments assert the role of councillors as vital to democracy and genuine devolution grants new powers, freedoms, autonomy, resources and support to councillors to govern their communities. The pendulum however, is swinging depressingly towards doomsday.
The report, The Future Role of the Municipal Councillor, displays the tendency across the Council of Europe’s membership for central and regional governments to see councillors as somehow ineffective, deficient and simply not of the same quality as politicians elected to other levels of government. While this view is deeply offensive it is also hugely inaccurate.
A link between the council and the community
As the report shows councillors, wherever they are located and on whatever tier of local government they sit, share a set of common experiences, relationships, functions and expectations as representatives, governors and political and community leaders. If a councillor from Copeland in the north west of England was magically transferred to Tsarevo municipality in south east Bulgaria, language difference to one side, the councillor would broadly know what was expected of them, find the responsibilities familiar and recognise the limitations on their office.
Familiarity can and does breed contempt and worse many see councillors as targets for social media and personal abuse
Councillors’ role as a link between the council and the community and as a channel of views, opinions and values between the council as an institution and the localities it covers as a community is a fundamental part of the process of local government. Indeed, the proximity of the councillor to those represented and governed is a unique and precious element of the office; no other elected representative, regionally or nationally is as embedded in or part of the areas they represent. That proximity as well as being of great value brings with it problems - familiarity can and does breed contempt and worse many see councillors as targets for social media and personal abuse.
The report shows how councillors are often under-resourced and supported by their municipalities especially when it comes to participating in the complex and fragmented networks which make up the landscape of public sector provision. Indeed, councillors are spending more time attempting to influence, shape and bring coherence to these networks and their players and drawing them into alignment with the objectives and policies of the council. Indeed, as the only players in such networks with an electoral mandate and legitimacy councillors are a vital part of holding such networks and their players to account.
Recommendations for the UK
To avoid the doomsday scenario and ensure councillors enjoy the sunlit uplands, the report sets out bold recommendations for regional and national governments; from these recommendations the most challenging for our system are the following:
- Formally recognise the status and importance of the councillor as an elected representative in law
- Ensure the legal framework enables councillors to discharge their duties with sufficient autonomy and freedom
- Give councillors enhanced legal rights to access to information from their council and other organisations
- National and regional authorities to fully and effectively consult with councillors on any proposed policy or legislation concerning local governance before legislation is passed and undertake constructive dialogue and cooperation with councillors on policy and legislative development of relevance for local democracy and governance, which should include regular communication and consultations between councillors and regional and national authorities
- Ensure councillor remuneration is fit for purpose
- Provide sufficient protection for councillors against threats and intimidation
- Ensure councillors have sufficient resources and policy advice
- Empower councillors to discharge their duties effectively in accordance with principles of subsidiarity and good governance.
Importantly the recommendations apply to all councillors, not just leaders and portfolio holders, so new forums for central and local interaction are needed. These changes are needed to ensure councillors are supported as a vital part of the governance of the country and to redress creeping centralisation.
The Council of Europe is currently assessing the UK’s compliance with the Charter of Local Self Government and the results of that review will be telling for the distance we have to go to achieve these recommendations.
Colin Copus: emeritus professor of local politics, De Montfort University; visiting professor, University of Gent
"avoid it" - Google News
July 29, 2021 at 06:21PM
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Colin Copus: Councillors face a doomsday scenario – here's how to avoid it - Local Government Chronicle
"avoid it" - Google News
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