Be a Councillor, you don’t actually have to do much

12th DECEMBER 2024

Some councillors do a lot and some councillors do very little in comparison, it’s the way it’s always been.

When you’re a councillor you take up a seat on an 18 seater councillor bus. Not literally, and god knows what songs they’d sing on it. No, y’know, there’s only so many places.

Cllr Daniel Lister is an example of someone who puts in serious hours for events like the Christmas Fayre, this year working for 15 hours straight. Out and about from a 4am start, through to a well-deserved beer at the 10pm end. Mad man… and the organisation goes way beyond just that day too!

Love him or hate him, Cllr Ed O’Driscoll tries his best often, putting in the hours. Yes his own self-promotion does at least look like it is something on his agenda going by how he posts on social media so much more than most councillors, but, despite it seeming sometimes that he might like things done his own way, he does do ‘stuff’.

Cllr Julian Utting clearly keeps tabs on all the finances, leaving no stone unturned, a thankless task that requires dedication and serious commitment.

Could you mistakenly think some councillors do more than they do? Is that a thing?

We all know there are some councillors who are properly involved with the town and related projects. We see the ones that keep on top of serious issues like the flooding of shops, social issues, and of course the deeply questionable quality of the road re-surfacing work that’s been done in the town - which includes, wait for it, tarmacing straight over the top of drains. Doh!

So, why is it that many councillors might appear to do so little compared to others? Because there are those ones that the public of Ross-on-Wye rarely even hear a pip-squeak from. Is it that they are shy, is it that they don’t like to brag, is it that they are working on top secret projects they must keep that way because they are so sensitive in nature - or is it just that some don’t just appear to do that much because that’s simply the case?

Next time you see a councillor, how about this... stop them and ask them 5 things that they have actually done recently as a councillor. Things they have done themselves. Ask them how many hours it took them, find out if it is fluffy spin or actual commitment. Stop, sorry, problem: you probably won’t even know who they are! Ahhh, now this will help, here’s a handy list of all the councillors in the form of a card game!

Could it that anyone would ever be encouraged to become a councillor along the lines of “join the council, you don’t actually have to do much?”. Naaaaa..... (Na?). Naaaa.

What would any sales pitch like that help? Well, it probably doesn’t happen, BUT, it could make it seem more attractive for a potential candidate, and could there be something in it for another hidden agenda? - oooo, hang on, tin foil hat time or one of those turned out to be true things? Hmmm. Keep your ears to the ground!

At a recent Town Council meeting, one councillor who is also a County Councillor even seemed to struggle to let everyone what he’d actually achieved in that role recently. Not looking like they had much of substance to say, they instead started with a rather patronising sounding quiz for those Town Councillors present of what a certain date meant. Perhaps some councillors could be forgiven if they thought they'd got sucked down a wormhole in time and were back at primary school.

A recent party political leaflet didn’t seem to promote that the councillor had achieved anything either. Three other town councillors also only managed a smile in a photo.

One thing is for sure, the Council Staff themselves (y’know, the employees, not the councillors) all work really hard under a lot of pressure. You can pop to the council offices any time before 1pm in the week if you need to, or use their website for various other ways to get in touch.

Oh well….Next time there’s a vacancy for a Town Councillor, perhaps you could apply, it seems it’s entirely up to you how much or little you do, so maybe not feel guilty about taking up one of the 18 seats on the bus eh?