Mr Wright - Many thanks for that question. I know what you say is often argued but from my own experience I think you do have to make a real distinction between national and local government. I have met many younger people of all political persuasions who want to be an MP; never really met many who aspire to be a councillor! Have to say also that I genuinely have rarely met a councillor who has not come into local politics for the right reasons - i.e a desire to make a positive contribution in one area or another of their local community.In terms of local government the experience tends to be people becoming involved with local politics often through a particular issue (such as a planning matter, the council want to do something that isn't very popular etc...) and from this an interest is often sparked and a wish to get things improved for their area. Local political parties will then 'persuade' them to stand for local council. Remember also that unlike MPs, being a councillor for the vast majority is not a full time job - many have careers outside of their work on council running alongside. There is often the debate about whether you should have a group of councillors of a certain experience which in turn would tend to mean of higher age, but I have always felt that a group should try at least to be representative of the community it seeks to represent. That means as much about having younger, perhaps with less life experience, as much as having older more experienced councillors. Sometimes it is the younger councillors who do have the real fire in the belly but that needs also to be complemented by those with the experience and knowledge! I have seen in my own group on the council that after the local elections in 2006 my group changed enormously - not only numerically but with a greater range of councillors from different backgrounds and ages and the positive impact this can have on bringing different perspectives to the policy discussions we inevitably have.My biggest argument has always been that overall I wish local government, which I believe makes more of an impact on peoples' everyday lives than many national positions ever can, was given the same prominence as a career in the Westminster village. Local Government is seen by some as a mere stepping stone to Westminster whereas local government is a rewarding end in itself.Hope this answers your points.
Jason Stacey ● 6798d