Anyone ever thought (or run a campaign even) to be become a local councillor?

[Raffiiscool]

Giving it some serious consideration..elections in May 2012.

Ideally would like to be an independent, as I am more interested in local issues and making my area a better place to live, than party politics.

I actually wouldn't know what party to align myself with

Anyway, I am a doer, I get things done but am diplomatic and nice! People tell me a lot I would be a great councillor. "You should run for the council" and all that.

To win a seat in my ward (there are 3 seats) I would need to get ~ 2500 votes out of a ~16k electorate with about a 65% turnout.

However, there are no independents at all on the council. My ward is split evenly on party lines so would need to break them as an independent. Cannot see how it is possible.

Just don't know if I can devote all the effort and time (DS 5 & 3) to then lose!

I'm in Scotland btw so SNP are a major player.

Trouble is, all independents join an independent group as soon as they get elected and then are no longer independent.

An election is hard work. As a party member, you get help, support and money from other party members. Leafleting isn't so bad when there is a team of you, and parties have a power base of supporters out there already. Independents have a huge task ahead of them in that respect. If you identify with a party, give it serious thought and if you are a decent prospect they'll snap you up.

Honestly, it's very hard work and some people hate it. Others love it and do it again...and again. I can't imagine doing it on my own.

BTW, very few people are more into party politics than making a difference in their local area.

hence why there are no independent on our council of some 30 seats! thanks will mull things over ( and start reading up )

hustings give me the fear - they always end up about the party's policies not the real issues. would find some things difficult impossible to justify ( goes for all parties)

Was asked.

Augean Stables sprang to mind.

Good luck! More of us should do it.

Also...if I may be cynical...the parties and the officers can run rings round inexperienced independents - you'll need your wits about you. Don't be played for a mug.

i agree. maybe why there are bugger all young(ish) mums doing it ( burying my head about childcare atm).

skim through of the mug shits of the encumbants says it all!

shit that should be shots ..... on phone

or maybe not

I know quite a few young mothers who are doing it! Go for it.

If you want to stand, then i would encourage you to do so. If you don't, you have no excuse for saying none of the candidates are worth voting for!

i've toyed with the idea recently and i'm a youngish mum (is 30 still young? Sherlock Holmes hurled an insult about someone being old as they were born in the 80's the other night, it's put me in a bad mood...) anyway that's a bit off topic. i've heard it's a part time job that's actually full time in reality, although the pay certainly isn't!

Is there a local district or parish council where you could cut your teeth first? Might ease you into the role. Where my mum and dad live the parish council is non-partisan, just people who want to serve the village.

I've run as a paper candidate (i.e. a candidate with no reasonable chance of winning) for the Green Party in the past and have thought about running in earnest for a winnable seat. Maybe I'll do it in the future, but I wouldn't dream of attempting it without the backing of a party because of the amount of work involved and because of the expertise and knowledge they can bring, having run successful local campaigns. You have to start getting your name out there at least 2 years before you intend to run apparently, for starters. And then there's canvassing - I helped a Green candidate with canvassing in the run-up to his successful bid for a council seat, a team of about 7 or 8 of us went out nearly every evening for a couple of months knocking on doors, talking to voters and delivering leaflets. Politics is tough going as an independent/small party.

Sorry, just to clarify: I was talking about election to a city council seat just then.

thanks green boy am i being naive. it is really clear now!

there is a local community council. i just know what it will be like though - full of ineffective people that rarely deliver anything tangible - i bloody live her so i would know if it was otherwise! i will look into it though.

reasoning is if im going to devote time and effort aim for a level where things happen!

excuse bad typing on phone.

I'm a local councillor because I thought should try to get things done myself rather than criticise other people for not doing it.

It's been slow but I've made some progress. Go for it.

I'm not party political myself, incidentally, but I've met some people who are aligned to parties. I've met a good bunch of people who are generally motivated to help others and not themselves. It might be less the case in the higher echelons of politics, I couldn't say.