Today has seen the annual celebration of local government on Twitter organised by the Local Government Association in England and Wales. Using the tag #ourday council employees and councillors have been tweeting about the work that they do. The ALDC website has some more information:
LGA Lib Dem Group Leader Gerald Vernon Jackson is encouraging Lib Dem councillors who have twitter accounts to support the LGA in raising the profile of local councils in England and Wales and the hard work you do locally as Liberal Democrat Councillors in your wards. It’s also a good opportunity for you to use social media to let communities know the extent and breadth of the work councils undertake.
This year #OurDay, the day when we ask people working in local government to tweet about what they’re doing to serve their community, is taking place on 26 November. Last year’s #OurDay saw over 3,500 people participating on twitter, sending more than 11,000 tweets.
Here’s a wee sample of some of the tweets from Liberal Democrat councillors which range from the political to practical to ultra cute.
I’m proud that the @LibDems administration at @hinckandbos_bc has protected front-line services, whilst keeping Council Tax low. #OurDay
— Cllr. Mathew Hulbert (@HulbertMathew) November 26, 2014
Useful session on safeguarding children & YP @WSCC today. #OurDay. Very useful advice about staying safe on-line : http://t.co/CNRnroAgsP
— Morwen Millson (@MorwenMillson) November 26, 2014
Tks to everyone reporting injured swan in Rosehill Pk. Swan sanctuary due to collect. Something different 4 #OurDay @LGAcomms @SuttonCouncil
— Ruth Dombey (@ruthdombey) November 26, 2014
Discussing what can be done to meet LGBTQ #health need across Cambridgeshire. #OurDay pic.twitter.com/b8VeLySQX6
— Kilian Bourke (@kilian_bourke) November 26, 2014
Busy #OurDay today. Still got @MindWestSussex Board meeting & interviews for @adurandworthing Independent Remuneration Panel. #localgov
— Bob Smytherman (@BSmytherman) November 26, 2014
And I know Killan has had one already, but I couldn’t resist this:
Saving baby hedgehogs. #OurDaypic.twitter.com/BYLIAByyUB
— Kilian Bourke (@kilian_bourke) November 26, 2014
If you are a Liberal Democrat Councillor in possession of a Twitter account, tell the world what you have been doing today.
Initiatives like this are good because they show people in a very practical way what local government does and why it’s important.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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5 Comments
Local government is important and the Lib Dems have traditionally stood up for this much maligned institution.
So why can’t somebody in the party apparatus speak out against the proposed shredding of Welsh local councils? – to be axed from the present 22 unitary authorities to possibly as few as six. The party in Wales is simply going along with the Labour government in Cardiff Bay!
Few people at the top of the party care about local government any more. Nor do they care about Liberal Democrat run/influenced Councils or LD Councillors. We are just useful idiots at election times and baggage to be carried for the rest of the time.
Why else would the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition have allowed to current carnage to take place?
Tony Greaves (Deputy Leader of a Council whose revenue budget is being slashed by HALF.
.
The ward I represent has 3 Lib-Dem councillors and for the past 12 years we have put out leaflets every other month continuously informing people of the main issues that we have been tackling in the ward; that information helps get us re-elected because people see a good sample of the work we do regularly. Apart from election time, the space given to party political items is usually limited and people appreciate that.
Tony Greaves is right about the way we councillors feel about the leadership of the party and it is not enough simply to get platitudes and words of thanks. The Localism bill was a step in the right direction but the cuts in funding have almost wiped that out. It does not look as though our manifesto will say much against plans to squeeze local government further. The whole arrangement between local and national government needs radical change and the devolution debate should be an opportunity to consider that.
Cllr. Nigel Jones ( Group Leader, Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council)
This is what the National Audit Office has to say about what Tony rightly describes as the current carnage,
“Local authorities have worked hard to manage reductions in government funding at a time of austerity. At the same time, there is evidence of some service reductions.The Department really needs to be better informed about the situation on the ground among local authorities across England, in a much more active way, in order to head off serious problems before they happen. It should look for evidence of financial stress in local authorities to assure itself that they are able to deliver the services for which they are responsible. It should be clear about the knock-on effect of the various funding decisions taken by departments in Whitehall.”
Quote of Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 19 November 2014
Why should a department in a Liberal Democrat shared administration need to be ‘better informed’ about what is going on on the ground? It should already know it.
Full report here: http://www.nao.org.uk/report/financial-sustainability-of-local-authorities-2014/
The leadership of the Liberal Democrats seems incapable of joining up the dots, let alone understanding the report from The Audit Commission.
An example this week in a comment by Christine Blower on one of those Centre Forum speeches that Mr Marshall funds for his friend Mr Laws.
“The recognition of the role of local authorities in school improvement is a step in the right direction. However, at a time of huge budget cuts to LA budgets, this would of course have to be well resourced. However, giving piecemeal powers back to LAs is not sufficient. LAs’ rightful role as the middle tier in education must be acknowledged and full powers restored to them.
“David Laws’ acceptance that the endless criticism of the profession has to stop and that teachers should be qualified is welcome. What he will do to change the situation is another matter. Ill thought and rushed changes to education and a workload for many of 60 hours a week, is driving thousands of teachers out of the profession.
“The NUT’s Stand up for Education campaign has been pivotal in getting politicians to recognise and take seriously the concerns of teachers. Through our Manifesto for Education and the rest of our eight steps to reduce workload, we will continue to press Government to bring about real change.”
https://www.teachers.org.uk/node/22817