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How to Become a Councillor
Councillor
Experiences
Brief experiences of two Newham
Councillors.
Councillor 1
Why did you become a Councillor?
"If you don't become a Councillor you can't change things. To make
things happen you need to be on the inside."
How did you become a Councillor?
"I was a member of my Party for some years and was an active local
campaigner - fighting for change from the outside. I was approached
by colleagues who suggested putting my name forward for selection
to run as the party candidate in the local elections. I was
successfully selected, campaigned in the election and won my
seat."
Councillor 2
Why did you become a Councillor?
"To help my community to achieve change for the better. To help
improve local services. You don't need certain skills to become a
Councillor…just the drive to work with, and for, the
community."
How did you become a Councillor?
I joined a political party. Some time later I went through the
party process for selection. This included interviews and meetings
with Party members to be questioned about myself. At the end of the
process local Ward members (of the Party) decided upon their
candidate. After that it was up to the electorate to elect their
Councillor. |