House of Commons - Councillors on the frontline - Communities and Local Government Committee

Councillors on the frontline - Communities and Local Government Committee Contents

3 REPRESENTATION AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY

36. If councillors are to play a much more active role in supporting and representing their communities, it is important to have councillors to whom the community can relate. The average age of a councillor in England is 60, 96% of councillors are white and only 31% are female.[76] Professor Colin Copus and Dr Melvin Wingfield of De Montfort University supplied us with the results of a survey of councillors from 16 countries across Europe. This survey found that the UK had the oldest councillors of the countries surveyed, and was "in a league of its own" when it came to the percentage of councillors who are retired: 43.3% in the UK compared to 30.2% in France, the second highest country, and 3.5% in Spain, the country with the smallest percentage of councillors who are retired.[77] With regard to the balance between male and female councillors, the survey found that the UK was "neither at the top or the bottom of the distribution".[78]

37. Witnesses generally considered that it was important for the membership of local authorities to reflect as closely as possible the demographic make-up of the communities they represented. Dame Jane Roberts, the former Chair of the Councillors Commission, stated:

Unbalanced representation in councils compounds a sense that we are governed by a separate political class who look and talk very differently from "ordinary people", that in turn distances people from an understanding of the political process and its importance, and can feed a destructive cynicism in politics.[79]

While such sentiments were echoed by a number of witnesses, others were less concerned.[80] The District Councils' Network said that "diversity is important, but not as important as having good, committed councillors willing to work hard to make a difference to their neighbourhood",[81] while Professor Copus warned that

Arguments for microcosmic representation appear to assume that only those who are from certain communities can undertake the task of representing them. Thus, the role of the councillor is not to represent the interests of the whole community, but the section of it from which the representative hails. That approach has serious implications for community cohesion as it displays a far more exclusive view of representation than has hitherto been the case. Indeed, a dangerous sectarianism could enter council chambers and party group meetings if diversity of recruitment is seen as an end in itself. [...] councillor diversity is [a] complex question which can only be answered suitably by a careful consideration [of] what it is that the councillor as a representative is expected to represent.[82]

38. While much of the evidence on candidates focused on how a more diverse pool could be recruited, we also heard that there were places where finding any candidates could be difficult. Geoff Pryke, Delegated Nominating Officer for Wearside Liberal Democrats, which following the 2012 local elections no longer had any councillors on Sunderland City Council,[83] told us that his local party's selection process was "very simple: it is called coercion".[84] Cllr Robert Knowles, Leader of Waverley Borough Council, where the Conservative Party held all but one of the seats on the council,[85] reflected:

I am sitting here very jealously, because I hear about all these selections. We run round a few days before the election trying to fill the gaps, and not only my party, because at the last election, out of 57, 19 were returned unopposed, including an 18-year-old woman in the no-hope seat for us, but unopposed.[86]

39. We consider it a matter of concern that the composition of many councils does not reflect that of the communities they serve. Clearly, we should not be looking for absolute "reflectiveness" (which would be impossible to achieve). We also accept that councillors do not necessarily have to come from a particular section of society to represent that section effectively. Nevertheless, healthy democracy depends upon different sections of society feeling a connection to those who represent them. It is, therefore, important to increase, for example, the numbers of women, younger people and black and minority ethnic people serving on local authorities, so that the membership of councils is better aligned to the make-up of the local populations they serve. Evidence presented to us suggested that there are areas where it can be difficult to find any candidates at all, and in these places the scale of the challenge will be all the greater. We will now consider what steps can be taken to increase the diversity of the councillor population.

THE ROLE OF POLITICAL PARTIES

40. Evidence from the Elections Centre at Plymouth University states that "the under-representation of women, younger people and Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups is as prevalent amongst candidates as it is amongst councillors".[87] This suggests to us that steps to promote the representativeness of councillors should be focused in the first instance upon ensuring there is a more diverse selection of candidates on the ballot paper. We heard that, following the 2012 English local elections, approximately 93% of all councillors were from one of the three main political parties.[88] Therefore, these parties, through the candidates they select, have significant influence over the composition of councils.

41. The national representatives of the three main political parties described the initiatives they had put in place to broaden the pool of candidates. Steve Hitchins, who leads the Liberal Democrats Be a Councillor programme, said that this programme had held 120 events around the country over the past six years. It was "designed to make people look outside the party membership, because we think that is too restrictive".[89] Robert Neill MP, the Conservative Party's Vice Chairman, Local Government, said that his party was "doing more work to attract councillors from various ethnic minority communities". He said that the party was working on a broader issue "about making sure we get support more deeply in ethnic minority communities in the UK as a piece", which he hoped would "lead to an influence on our councillor numbers, but you have got to do it that way around rather than the other way around".[90] A local example of this work was given by Alan Wright, the Chairman of City of Sunderland Conservatives, who described his association's work to engage with minority ethnic communities, including meetings with officials from the local Bangladeshi Community Centre.[91] Olly Buston, the Labour Party's Executive Director of Members and Supporters, described the party's Future Candidates Programme which was "specifically designed to reach out to the widest possible group of people". He said that "one hundred per cent. of the people on that scheme are not on those traditional paths to becoming a councillor".[92]

42. At our discussion forum, however, a number of participants suggested that political parties preferred candidates with a long history of party activism.[93] In Sunderland, Cllr Tom Wright, who has been closely involved in the selection of Labour Party candidates and has led work to bring forward candidates from under-represented groups, told us, quite reasonably, that he liked candidates "to have been in the party a couple of years" and "to have at least campaigned and delivered leaflets at one election". He added that this was his personal view, not Labour Party policy.[94]

43. Some witnesses also suggested that the way local parties selected their candidates contributed to councils being unrepresentative. The Centre for Women and Democracy expressed a similar view, stating that "some members of all political parties mistakenly believe that women are an electoral liability, and select candidates accordingly".[95] Liz Richardson from the University of Manchester pointed to research about candidates for election to national political institutions, which she said indicated that the parties were "trying to second-guess what voters will stand".[96] She explained:

Where there are, for example, large minority ethnic populations parties are happier to put in minority ethnic candidates because they see that as a no brainer, but diversity candidates, if you want to call them that, are more likely to get "no hope" seats than winnable seats in other situations, because parties think that the electorate will not stand for someone who looks different.[97]

44. Our evidence also highlighted a lack of transparency in selection processes. Paul Wheeler, Director of the Political Skills Forum, said that where there was "a transparent and understandable selection process" parties were "able to attract a more diverse group of candidates". However, he considered that these transparent processes were "largely confined to London Boroughs and other metropolitan areas" and "not widely taken up nationally and across parties".[98]

45. The parties said that they were taking steps to address these issues. Steve Hitchins said that "a natural trait for any human being going into a room of complete strangers is to first approach someone who looks remarkably like them [...] Three white, middle-aged lawyers tend to select white, middle aged lawyers". He said that it was necessary "to train people to widen their horizons" and that such training was "now part of the process wherever we have a selection panel".[99] Olly Buston said that through reforms to the Labour Party, "local campaign forums" were being established and were "specifically mandated with coming up with a recruitment strategy that pulls in the widest possible range of candidates".[100] Robert Neill said that it "was perhaps more the case in the past that parties were unwilling to be bold"; the Conservative Party now had a "standardised selection procedure and we have party professionals in the field who can make sure that that is properly policed".[101]

46. Political parties form the backbone of our democratic system. If we are to see a significant increase in the proportion of councillors from currently under-represented groups, the three main parties together have an important (and probably the most important) role to play. We were pleased to see that the national parties were taking action to increase the number of candidates from under-represented groups and to encourage a broader pool of people to put themselves forward. We were also encouraged to hear that the parties had in place steps to address concerns raised with us about excessive caution and a lack of transparency in selection processes. However, while there are doubtless many examples of good practice, we did not see convincing evidence that party policies were being universally applied by local parties "on the ground". The political parties must ensure that there are mechanisms in place to monitor the implementation of their national policies in all parts of the country, and that results are achieved.

LOOKING BEYOND POLITICAL PARTIES

47. We heard that in seeking to broaden the diversity of candidates, political parties had to look beyond their current membership. It was suggested that the voluntary and community sector could be a good "hunting ground".[102] Cllr Lucinda Yeadon, Executive Member for Adult Social Care on Leeds City Council, who herself had a voluntary sector background, told us that the sector was "an excellent place to find people who are community-minded, community-spirited, and probably have a lot of the same values and ethos [...] that we should be encouraging".[103] In Sunderland, we heard from Cllr Dianne Snowdon, who had been a school governor and had fought the council to prevent the closure of the school. She said:

Once I got confidence in my role as school governor I got more politically aware and joined the Labour party late in life. I got involved and did eight years of grass-roots campaigning, and then went on to become a councillor.[104]

48. Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Leader of the Opposition on Hertfordshire County Council, said that there were some barriers to getting people from the voluntary sector to stand:

firstly, they do not want to be associated with one political party or another, or secondly, they believe they can get better things or more for their community or their community group by being outside of the political arena.[105]

The national political party representatives all told us that they were keen to recruit candidates from the voluntary sector.[106] Parties could also look for potential candidates amongst the business community: at our discussion forum, it was observed that running a council had many similarities to running a business.[107]

PERCEPTIONS OF PARTY POLITICS

49. Our evidence suggested that some people were put off by their perceptions of party politics. At the discussion forum, we were told that the "atmosphere" at party meetings could discourage people from involvement with a political party.[108] The parenting website, Netmums, conducted a survey of its members. When asked why they were not interested in becoming a councillor, respondents variously referred to the "mudslinging" involved, the "bickering and posturing" between parties and their belief that politics was "male dominated".[109] In written evidence, Leslie Horne, who had thought about standing for election, said that "if you join one of the main political parties [...] freedom [of speech] is taken away as you have to comply with the [party's] ideas even if you do not agree".[110]

50. Being a councillor is not for everyone and some people will choose to serve their communities in other ways. Nevertheless, the values and skills involved in working in the voluntary sector or running a business will often reflect many of those required for service as a councillor. The political parties should initiate discussions with organisations representing the voluntary sector and business community to explore how they can work together to promote opportunities to stand for election. In addition, the parties should take steps to make themselves more open, for instance by creating a more welcoming atmosphere at meetings, so that people are not deterred by negative and possibly inaccurate perceptions of what being a party member entails.

OPEN PRIMARIES

51. One witness, Timothy J Oates, called for the political process to be opened up, stating that there "should be open primaries at every level with no artificial restrictions or meetings of the 'great and the good' behind closed doors, selecting candidates".[111] The Coalition Programme for Government commits the Government to funding 200 all-postal primaries over the current Parliament, aimed at parliamentary seats that have not changed hands for many years.[112] Robert Neill, the Conservative Party's Vice Chairman, Local Government, said that he had "no objection to the principle of open primaries", and that while the party "would have to look at the practicality" he did "not rule out the idea".[113]

POSITIVE ACTION

52. The Centre for Women and Democracy supported "positive action" as a means of increasing the number of female councillors. It pointed to the result of the Labour Party's positive action policy,noting that "in 2003 only 23% of Labour's candidates were women, whereas in 2012 this figure had risen to 41%". By contrast, it said that "the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have both rejected positive action for the time being at least, and their proportion of women candidates has remained more or less unchanged over the same period".[114]

53. Amongst the participants at our discussion forum, there were some strong supporters of positive action, who argued it was a necessity in some communities to stop councils being predominately male. Other participants, however, argued that it was anti-democratic and that it undermined councillors to be selected on the basis of the gender, age or ethnicity, rather than their merits.[115]

54. Steve Hitchins said that he was personally in favour of positive action, but that it had been rejected "on at least three occasions" by the Liberal Democrat party conference.[116] He added that the Liberal Democrats did "have quotas on shortlists, so although that is not positive action in candidates, it is on shortlists".[117] Robert Neill said that it was the Conservative Party's belief

that you want the best people coming forward, regardless of gender or ethnicity. I do think that is a very important principle and we should not restrict the choice of the selectorate in that way [through positive action].[118]

He said, however, that the party did "have quotas in relation to parliamentary shortlists".[119]

55. There are a number of approaches the political parties could take to increasing the diversity of the candidates they select. We are not advocating particular approaches but rather that parties should actively consider the options available. These options could include the use of open primaries, and the introduction of positive action policies.

INDEPENDENT COUNCILLORS

56. Joining a political party is not the only route to becoming a councillor and there is a case for encouraging more people to stand as independents. As Professor Copus pointed out, the "most under-represented group of people in local government and among councillors are those that are not members of the three main political parties".[120] We heard from independent councillors who had stood for election after campaigning on particular local issues. Cllr Colin Wakefield, Leader of the Independent Group on Sunderland City Council, had led a group of local residents opposed to a landfill site. He said:

In many local issues 'independent' is quite often the right way to go. There is not a political dimension if you need a zebra crossing or something like that; there is or is not a need. That was how I got involved.[121]

Cllr Marianne Overton, an independent councillor on Lincolnshire County and North Kesteven District Councils, had stood for election because the community was concerned about the sitting councillor's lack of support for a bypass.[122] She considered that more could be done to encourage people to stand as independents:

One way is to make sure that people do understand what a councillor can do and what difference they can make. If there are some good examples, they should be publicised in the press or in newsletters or on Facebook; anywhere. [...] If there are barriers like unfair press coverage, which we sometimes see, particularly during election time, that does make it very difficult. Many of the independents have networks to try to encourage others to come forward, and even to do some training prior to standing as well [...] It is really just about making sure that there is an open door and trying to provide a level playing field.[123]

THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT: PROMOTING LOCAL DEMOCRACY

57. While it was argued that the political parties had the greatest role to play in bringing forward more diverse candidates, witnesses also considered there was a role, albeit a less direct one, for local authorities. Liz Richardson stated:

one area for development is the role of local authorities in recruiting potential candidates. There is already a high level of activity by councils to support local democracy [...] In recent years, there have also been tentative moves towards active 'marketing' of becoming a councillor by councils, although these have suffered from a reluctance to talk about the roles for political parties. Despite all of this, there are still strong underlying objections by officers in authorities to intervening in recruitment which hinder more extensive promotional work.[124]

58. A number of witnesses considered that councils' focus should be upon the promotion of local democracy. The first principle established by the Councillors Commission was that "local authorities are key to promoting local democratic engagement".[125] Dame Jane Roberts explained in written evidence that the Commission was concerned "about the lack of understanding about local government and what councillors do, let alone about how to become a councillor".[126] Evidence from Leeds City Council and the Commission on the Future of Local Government raised the "image of local government" and said that "many examples and stories of excellent public service need to be told, including by using new forms of more personalised and direct communications, to restore public faith in local government and democracy".[127] Desmond Jaddoo, who works with communities in Birmingham, expressed a similar point saying that during the recent mayoral campaign "various issues concerning the engagement, voter apathy, lack of understanding, image, and distancing between the people and Local Government were clearly highlighted".[128] Cllr Rowan Draper, from Stafford Borough Council, referred to the need for "citizenship education, not only in schools, but perhaps county councils and borough councils should be doing that as part of their offer to residents".[129]

DUTY TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY

59. The Councillors Commission's concerns about a lack of understanding of local government led it to recommend that local authorities "be charged with a statutory duty to facilitate local democratic engagement".[130] Such a duty was provided for in the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009;[131] however, the previous Government chose not to implement the provision immediately,[132] and it was subsequently repealed in the Localism Act 2011.[133] Brandon Lewis, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, told us that the decision to repeal the duty

comes back to the line between the Government directing local government about what to do. If we are going to have localism, let local authorities develop what they think is right for their area and then promote it. Good local authorities and good councils would want to do that.[134]

Cllr Robert Gordon, Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said that he was "very happy not to be under a duty and to exercise our own discretion locally".[135]

TARGETING UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS

60. On the steps councils take to promote local democracy, the Association of Democratic Services Officers said that publicity was "often targeted in particular at the under-represented sections of the community to encourage members of those communities to think about standing for public office" and that youth parliaments and school councils were used as a way to engage young people.[136] Participants at our discussion forum also referred to the benefits of youth councils and similar forums, and considered social media to be another effective channel for reaching out to young people.[137] Earlier in this report, we established that active and visible councillors could become role models for others in the community, encouraging them to take an interest in local government.[138]

61. Local authorities should be actively promoting democratic engagement and explaining to the public what the role of councillor entails. The repeal of the Duty to Promote Democracy should be a spur to show that councils can develop and implement their own approaches to the promotion of local democracy, without the need for central government direction. We understand that local government is currently facing significant budgetary constraints. Nevertheless, we encourage all councils to put in place strategies for democratic engagement, in accordance with their local circumstances. These strategies should include a focus on engagement with under-represented and hard-to-reach groups. In particular, councils should be taking steps to promote the active involvement of young people.

BE A COUNCILLOR PROGRAMME

62. The Local Government Association (LGA), in its written evidence, described the Be a Councillor programme that it had initiated:

Only by encouraging the brightest stars to stand for election can we ensure that councils are able to do the best for their communities. [...]

The LGA is encouraging everyone to play their part in 'talent spotting'—actively looking out for committed, enthusiastic people who could make great councillors. We have been working with councillors, those involved in the formal selection process, and also active party members keen to initiate change. They all have an important role to play. There has been a considerable amount of work with the political parties to find ways to encourage more people from a range of backgrounds to stand to be councillors in ways that reflect the parties' values and traditions.

To raise public awareness the LGA has produced a free toolkit of materials for councils to use, or edit to fit their local campaigns. Ultimately, it is the electorate that decides who becomes a councillor, but we can all help to raise the quality of the candidates they choose from.[139]

The three main political parties are all engaged in the work of the Be a Councillor programme.[140]

63. Paul Wheeler expressed support for the work of Be a Councillor,[141] and proposed the creation of a "Local Democracy Advocacy Organisation". He said that such an organisation could "encourage more people to consider standing for election as elected representatives at all levels" and "could take over and expand the current LGA Be a Councillor Programme".[142] He explained that there were already equivalent bodies at the national level,

such as Industry and Parliament Trust which is supported by a large number of commercial organizations to encourage those with business experience to stand as MPs [...] Equally the Hansard Society has a mission to promote parliamentary democracy and the work of Parliament. On an international level the Westminster Foundation encourages best practice and innovation amongst political parties in emerging democracies.

A Local Democracy Foundation could replicate the beneficial features of all these organizations for the specific promotion of local democracy in England. It could be funded from existing funds designated for leadership improvement and capacity building in local government.[143]

64. The Local Government Association (LGA) deserves credit for its work on the Be a Councillor programme, which is playing an important role in encouraging a wider group of people to stand at local elections. We welcome the political parties' engagement in the programme. We note the suggestion for the creation of a Local Democracy Advocacy Organisation that could take over and expand the programme. While there is merit in this idea, we are wary of recommending the setting up of a new organisation, which could be expensive and time consuming. We would, however, encourage the LGA to expand the Be a Councillor programme, under its established branding, to enable it to play a wider role in the promotion of local democracy. The expanded Be a Councillor programme could take steps to share good practice from councils' approaches to promoting democratic engagement. Steps to popularise the idea of becoming a councillor should be actively considered.

76 See para 4. Back

77 Ev 121. Professor Copus and Dr Wingfield state: "A note of caution must be added however, when reporting data from low response rate surveys; only new surveys and a larger response rate could confirm or refute the patterns that emerged from this survey". Back

78 Ev 122 Back

79 Ev 145, para 9.1. See also Ev w83, para 4.1 [NAVCA]. Back

80 See, for example, Qq 147-9 [Cllr Jeff Reid]. Back

81 Ev w23 Back

82 Ev 116, section 4 Back

83 Q 167 Back

84 Q 159 Back

85 "2011 election results", www.waverley.gov.uk Back

86 Q 300 Back

87 Ev 173 Back