Bedford borough councillors have backed a new Member Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy, saying the growing pressures of public office mean elected representatives need clearer support.
The policy, approved by the General Purposes Committee on Tuesday (4 November), will give councillors formal access to the same well-being services as council staff, including confidential counselling.
The committee heard that the aim was to ensure members are supported in their roles, which can involve long hours, public scrutiny, and increasing levels of online abuse.
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Cllr Doug McMurdo (Independent, Sharnbrook) said: “There are times people get in a bad place”. Adding that the policy needed to be meaningful and not a “tick-box exercise”.
Cllr Graeme Coombes (Conservative, Wixams and Wilstead) said politics is a “robust place”.
“It can be difficult, it can be stressful, not just in terms of the work that people do, but also at home when it’s like, ‘oh another meeting and you’re going to be out again’,” he said.
“It creates stresses in people’s home lives as well as actually doing the job.
“We’re all aware, obviously, of the pressure and the abuse that that councillors and MPs and elected representatives of all parties (and none) are increasingly getting due to the widespread use of social media.
“So it’s not going to be for everybody, but it should be there for those people who need it.”
Worthwhile exercise
Councillor Zara Layne (Labour, Harpur) said: “I consider myself pretty robust, a bit of a tough old bird, some might say.
“But I think having something like this in the background just draws parameters for people, and it sets standards, and it may be that we never need to use it, but there is something that we can refer to and know that some treatment is not acceptable.
“And what we choose to do with that or how we choose to engage with this is down to individual choice.”
Committee chair, cllr Henry Vann (Lib Dem, De Parys) said: “This has come from the experience of a few new councillors who were elected at the last local elections who thought that this was a worthwhile exercise.
“It is in some ways clarifying that members are entitled to the same support that employees receive, and I think that’s important.”
The proposal will now go to full council for formal adoption.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
