be a councillor
Abigail Lock
- Cat lover
- Campaigns for disabled people
- Wants to make a difference
- Local councillor
"I really want to encourage people to become councillors. People need to know that it’s not an easy job but it’s so rewarding."
"Every time you make even the smallest difference to someone's life it makes being a councillor worthwhile. Of course it's frustrating when you're writing four letters just to get someone's drain fixed or something but it's rewarding when you make something happen."
Feryat Demirci
Councillor in Hackney
It isn't always easy to balance your work and council commitments but most meetings are in the evening and you just have to be organised with your diary.
It's very difficult to measure but I'd say I spend around 10-15 hours a week - doing a couple of organised walkabouts around my ward during the day and two of three evening meetings. The more committees you join the more you have to do but I've always tried to put the work in my ward first and then see what I can do on top of that.
I decided to stand as a councillor because I've always been involved in community and voluntary work and think that it's important to make a positive contribution to where you live. It was a natural extension of what I was doing already. It's great getting to know you area better and feeling you have a stake in how it improves.
Because I'd done a lot of voluntary work before I became a councillor I thought I knew everything there was to know about the council and the way it works. But the terminology, structures and rules can be a bit intimidating when you first start.
I did a lot of panicking at the beginning when I started getting casework from my constituents as it can get a bit confusing which council department it should go to. You want to give the best advice and support you can but it's not always easy to become an expert overnight. But we've got a brilliant department at the council that supports councillors and who gave me a lot of advice on who to talk to in the various departments. We also have a mentoring system within our political group so that experienced councillors are available to talk to and get advice from, but my colleagues were always there to help me too.
Every time you make even the smallest difference to someone's life it makes being a councillor worthwhile. Of course it's frustrating when you're writing four letters just to get someone's drain fixed or something but it's rewarding when you make something happen. A lot of the role is an advocacy one - as an individual councillor you don't actually run anything so it is more about writing letters on people's behalf and helping them get things done.