Local councils came about because citizens set them up. Although a lot of what councils do is decided by Parliament, their prime responsibility is to citizens. Councils are not limited by what Parliament says they should do: they can do anything (legal) which benefits the area and its citizens – current and future.
Since the move to the Cabinet Model, most councillors are not often involved in making council decisions. In this context, local leadership is the difference between being a ‘backbench’ or a ‘frontline’ councillor. Thinking about what makes effective local leadership have developed over the past ten years from the idea of ‘placeshaping’: moving beyond the management of services to the leadership of localities.
The Localism Act aimed to help councillors take on the local leadership role. Public spending cuts make it essential. In Birmingham, there are all sorts of factors that generally serve to encourage and enable councillors to develop local leadership, not least an active and innovative civil society. The future wellbeing of neighbourhoods and communities and the rebirth of the Council as a Citizens’ Council depends on good local leadership.
Read more about:
the idea of a Citizens’ Council
efforts to strengthen local leadership
the trends that will affect the way councillors work in future