Sara Bashford

Councillor in Croydon

When I became a magistrate my mentor was also a local councillor. She mentioned it one day while we were chatting and she asked me if I was interested in politics. I said it was the everyday stuff that affects everyone's life that interested me. She invited me along to a couple of meetings and in a sense that was the beginning of my involvement in 'local politics'.

Looking back, I realise that I had always had an interest in local politics. I've always been the mother at school who got the petition together, I was always part of the PTA and trying to improve things.

I have been married for 20 years this year, and have a 15 year-old daughter and a 12 year-old son. When it comes to balancing home and council life it's just a case of being very organised and having good time-management skills, with a clear set of priorities; if the kids have got an event at school for example, then that's a priority.

When somebody comes to you with a problem that's affecting their life in a big way you are able to help, sometimes just by making a couple of calls to get the ball rolling. When that person writes to you six months later to say 'this has made such a difference to my life', that is a fantastic feeling.