Social media has its advantages – on one hand, it enables me to let residents of my ward know what their councillors have been up to – but it can also be a place where disgruntled people or keyboard warriors have a go at us and the council as a whole.
I’d just like to address this issue, as it may help to know what the role of a councillor entails.
Here in Bedford Borough, councillors of all political parties work hard every single day, including evenings and weekends. Much of our work happens behind the scenes and often goes unnoticed. But that doesn’t make it any less important.
Our work for committee meetings and Full Council involves reading detailed council reports, research and preparation beforehand, then attending meetings that sometimes last for over four hours and require well-thought-out questions, comments and decisions.
Many of these meetings are covered in local media.
What is less well known is the daily work behind the scenes helping residents, often in urgent need of support, particularly housing issues, financial concerns, domestic abuse, education and much more. These require immediate, confidential, crucial interventions.
Other times we might be supporting a resident with a local issue or we’re reporting potholes, tackling fly-tipping, or helping resolve antisocial behaviour.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s vital. We’re constantly chasing services and often answering residents’ messages late into the evening.
This is what local representation really looks like.
Most councillors give 20 to 30 hours a week to the role and have to try to balance this alongside full-time jobs and family life. We do this because we care deeply about our wards and Bedford Borough.
We’re not here for headlines. Labour councillors focus on action, not applause. Our job is to speak up, but more importantly, to deliver real, lasting change.
This is simply a window into the work we do, driven by our commitment to make Bedford Borough a better place for everyone.
This is a monthly guest column provided by
Cllr Abu Sultan, leader of Bedford Borough Labour Group.
It is published unedited and does not reflect the
views of the Bedford Independent.
