In July 2014, I took my place in the Welsh Government offices, Cardiff having been entrusted with the task of putting the recommendations from Professor Laura McAllister’s On Balance Expert Report into motion. Click here to read the expert report
In short the 22 recommendations from the report all are geared towards increasing the diversity of our local government councillors in Wales.
I soon realised the mammoth task ahead, especially when it came to light, the apparent lack of resources and funds allocated to the project, in short ‘me’!
However, with supportive team members, a knowledgeable steering group and 22 councillor volunteers, 1 from each local authority, it more than made up for the lack of funds.
Getting to know everyone in the project early days was great fun and just about everyone I met was enthusiastic and supportive of the Diversity in Democracy project (DiD). One of my first meetings was with Councillor David Daniels from Torfaen, I am not sure what I expected of Councillors but it was not the young David with unruly curls, jeans and tshirt and half eaten apple in hand that I met in the reception of Torfaen Council. I immediately warmed to him and as we talked his passion for the role and dedication to supporting constituents came across strongly, I knew then and I was proven correct that Councillor Dave would be an asset to the DiD programme.
There are far too many interesting, wonderful people whom I have met through this project to name them all, with very few who I felt were along for the ride. Having worked closely with councillors and mentees has shown me that the majority of councillors are there for the love of the job, not for the money which is hardly a sustainable wage and not for prestige, when they seem to get more criticism than praise for all their hard work. I have been blown away with the passion and dedication shown by our local councillors in Wales and feel privileged to have had this opportunity to work with many of them.
I was particularly proud when Councillor Fenella Bowden from North Cardiff was nominated for a prestigious Business Wales Special Category Mentoring Award in late January 2017. Her commitment and energy to the project is unbounded and she has helped countless people in achieving confidence and is a great Ambassador for the project. When she won the special category prize it was the icing on the cake for all we stood for.
l also have to mention the steering group and their dedication to supporting the project, in particular the WLGA and the wonderful Sarah Titcombe, whose guidance has been invaluable.
From my point of view it has been an eventful 2.5 years, with opportunities to visit council chambers across Wales from Isle of Anglesey to Llanelli Town Hall, finding a lost sheep on a journey North, driving through floods 3 feet deep in Mid Wales, lost and in tears in a rental car in narrow lanes driving to the Eisteddfod, arriving as my colleagues were packing up and locked out of Council Chambers in West Wales.
One wet Merthyr day I was hours in the back of an old ambulance, facilitating the filming of a video clip by Councillor David Isaac, starting off in the Red House, Merthyr with his Mayor finery on, morphing into his Paramedic uniform to talk about the importance of a supportive employer, to wandering the streets in his civvies later in the day with his clip board offering support to local businesses and residents!
It’s been a blast!
The figures are outstanding too …. over 2.5 years a total of 65 councillors from all main parties signed up to offer mentoring and 46 people from under represented groups signed up to to shadow 1 or more of the councillors.
I learned that most councillors are open to mentoring people from other political affiliations as they see it as an opportunity to encourage more young people, women, disabled people, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans* (LGBT) and Black Minority Ethnic (BME) people to become councillors.
The mentoring programme has been a huge success.
25 of 46 mentees have indicated they would like to stand for election.
Whatever happens next, the fact that the DiD programme has given so many people the opportunity to take a peek into the world of local government and the result being that more than half of these people are still considering standing for election is tantamount to the passion and dedication councillors in Wales have to serving their communities.
The Diversity in Democracy programme is due to end in March 2017, however, I feel this is the beginning of a movement and of something special.
People in Wales want change and are willing to do something about it.
Alongside the mentoring programme we ran a publicity campaign and an employer programme to to encourage businesses to support their staff to be councillors. We also provided financial support for disabled people to shadow mentors, attend council meetings and training.
We have accessed top quality training for councillors and mentees facilitated by Professor Sheila Hunt, expert in mentoring, Academi Wales for leadership and personal development and ethical training provider Equal Values who provided social media training to suit everyone and practical training in improving presentation and chairing skills essential for today’s councillors.
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