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In just a few weeks' time, there will be a new set of councillors walking through the doors in town halls across the country. The scale of churn among the councillor population will, of course, vary. In London, with all 1,800-plus council seats up for election, the number could be significant. "While London's track record on the diversity of candidates may be better than many others, it is vital that we continue to work hard to attract a broad range of people to stand for election to represent local communities." The sophistication of induction schemes for new members has advanced significantly down the years. In my working life in councils, I can recall an induction planning discussion which centred predominantly on how we should help new councillors fill out their allowance claim forms and find their way around the building. That was, until a senior colleague counselled us that it was the beginning of a slippery slope if we started encouraging members to know their way around the corridors! These days, councils take great care to try and explain the overall context – national and local – for the important jobs that people are about to undertake on behalf of their communities. Programmes of rolling seminars covering all of the big policy, service and resource issues are scheduled, and even buddies are assigned. Much of this, rightly, goes on at the level of the council itself. There is, however, also some scope for bringing new councillors together from across a range of authorities. That can represent better use of time and resource where there is shared interest in specific issues. In London, new councillors will be invited to a session involving the mayor, the group leaders from London Councils and, potentially, the minister for London. Hopefully, it will be both an enjoyable occasion on which new councillors across the capital can network, but also an important part of the orientation into what can seem a complex set of governance arrangements. We are also hoping we will see some people who have come through the ‘Be a councillor' campaign which we have run over the past couple of years, in the build up to the 2010 elections. While London's track record on the diversity of candidates may be better than many others, it is vital that we continue to work hard to attract a broad range of people to stand for election to represent local communities. It is an imperative we all face across the country if we want our ambitions for more local democratic influence to be capable of being realised effectively. Working with each political party, we have sought to attract people who might not normally have thought about standing as councillors, but through this campaign, have seen what they might be able to achieve for their fellow citizens. So, in wishing all those contesting local elections in May well, you will forgive me for hoping that some of those who have come through the ‘Be a councillor' programme will get the chance to bring their skills to bear on behalf of their local areas for the next four years. John O'Brien is chief executive of London Councils

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