Anyone who makes things happen for the benefit of the local area and its residents and who uses local resources (people, communities, land and buildings etc) to do so, is a local leader?
Some possible examples might be:
- a resident campaigning for better road safety
- a shop-owner seeking to set up a Business Improvement District
- a group of faith leaders aiming to improve relations between different communities
- a GP getting her practice to try out ‘social prescribing‘
- a resident working with the Council to set up a ‘friends of’ a local park group
- a community librarian raising money to set up a tool store and to run a coding club
- a young person organising their Duke of Edinburgh Award cohort to do a neighbourhood clean-up
- a community group collecting food and toiletries to share with refugees
- a disabled pensioner who is leading a campaign to improve repairs in social housing.
Being a local leader doesn’t necessarily mean you are ‘representative’ of the area (though councillors are); or that you are always popular (or always right!) Being a Local Leader does mean that you get things done, however small: you make a difference.
What next?
Check out where that phrase ‘The Usual Suspects’ came from
Read on to consider what makes councillors special amongst Local Leaders
OR – follow the menu on the right to have a look at other parts of the guide.