In Defence of Councillors, the book which does what it says on the cover, is out paperback and there is no better time to defend our councillors and the office they hold. Politicians, at all levels, receive a bad press, which generates a poor public image of them and their work as representatives, governors and decision-makers. Sometimes that bad press is a self-inflicted wound: expenses scandals; lobbying or being lobbied; breaching COVID restrictions others must respect and of course the big question: when is a party a work meeting?
While MPs come in for a fair amount of stick when things go wrong, In Defence of Councillors shows that for councillors the continual degrading of their office through negative reporting, a poor public image and constant suspicion about their motives, sagacity, ability, integrity and behaviour is not only an inaccurate broad generalisation but damaging to local democracy and government.
Councillors still face the accusation of ‘living the life of Riley off the rates' despite more than 30 years having passed since the ‘rates' were abolished; constant complaints about councillor allowances show a cheese-paring view of local democracy on the cheap. The power of these arguments has forced some councils into a self-denying ordinance as they fail to remunerate councillors anything like the worth of the job they do, as many independent members' allowance reviews show.
Negative views of councillors not only undermine them and their office and make it harder for them to take the action they need to take, but it makes central control and dictat over local government more difficult to challenge. It also makes it all the more easy for the centre to merge and abolish councils and reduce the number of councillors, so squeezing opportunities for citizens to take part in elected government.
In Defence of Councillors argues that a negative view of our councillors, their abilities and what they can achieve is nowhere greater than at the centre but also reflected by the public and media. The book challenges and refutes inaccurate and sometimes offensive views about councillors and their work, often held by those who, in many cases, should know better.
My book shows we woefully underestimate the time councillors spend on council work and those time demands are increasing as the challenges councillors face become more complex and intricate. We fail to understand how council membership affects councillors' private, social, work and family life as the proximity councillors have to those they represent and govern means they are contactable at home, in the street or when socialising in ways MPs, who spend most of their working life in London, are not: there is no such thing as ‘popping to the shops for a few minutes' for councillors.
Social media makes contacting councillors more immediate and is a means of abusing and intimidating them, quite apart from the physical and verbal abuse to which they are often subjected. The Local Government Association's survey of the abuse councillors receive is a timely reminder of that fact.
Finally, the book may be of use to officers to assist in understanding the work and life of the councillor and to put into context why they operate how they do and the barriers and frustrations they face.
The greatest compliment came from a councillor who said: ‘The trouble with your book is that you're (expletive deleted) right about everything.' That may or may not be the case but hopefully the paperback will increase the book's readership for those wanting to understand more about councillors' lives and work and the enormous contribution they make to governing our localities.
Colin Copus is emeritus professor of local politics, De Montfort University, Leicester and visiting professor Ghent University, Belgium
In Defence of Councillors is published by Manchester University Press and is now also available in paperback and eBook
