Listening to the county council election results last
Friday brought back memories of my time as a county
councillor and group leader on a hung council in the
1980s and 1990s.
I was first elected to Bedfordshire CC in 1981 and
apart from my last two years as a member (1997-99),
the council was hung.
Each of the first four elections during my time as a
councillor resulted in different arithmetical balances
between the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties.
No one party had a majority of the 83 seats with the
Conservatives having lost the authority in 1981. This
was in the era of pre-strong leader-cabinet governance.
Fortunately, all but a few councillors recognised that
the council still had to function: services had to be delivered;
economic development had to be pursued;
planning applications had to be considered; taxes and
rates had to be raised; staff had to be paid; and children
educated.
This could not be achieved if the politicians of the day
had simply used the council chamber arithmetic to stop
any action or every decision. It meant compromise and
negotiation. It required a collaborative leadership style.
And, it also required some careful diplomacy, some
‘stealth’ deals and some plotting.
We tried a multitude of approaches and tactics – from
electing committee chairs from meeting to meeting
(sometimes with tacit agreement to rotate between the
two largest parties – Conservative and Liberal), to minority
administration, to joint three-party and informal
joint two-party administration.
There were formal open deals; and there were lessopen
agreements between two or more groups – and often between the group leaders without full exposure
to their groups.
It led to some fascinating and, to any external observer,
some very odd behaviours. Council budget meetings
would ritually witness all three groups presenting their
own budget proposals only to see them voted down (on
one occasion, after over 30 hours of ‘debate’) before a
short adjournment would miraculously produce a fullycosted,
analysed and printed budget proposal that two
of the groups would then ‘reluctantly’ vote for.
I recall in more than one year having agreed what
would become the council budget with a fellow group
leader several weeks before my own group agreed its
own unique set of proposals.
I also recall on a few occasions moving recommendations
from the Policy and Resources Committee (which
I had chaired), at full council, only to vote against the
same recommendations even though I agreed with
them, because party group tactics required ‘political difference’
with other groups on the council.
Madness, but nevertheless, progress was made.
Political tactics have a role to play in securing political
strategy.
Much of the time, the council’s decision-making was
dominated by budget cuts, although these were moderate
compared with the challenges facing local authorities
today. And there is no doubt that cuts by hung councils
are more difficult to achieve than when there is a
clear political set of values and priorities.
Reflecting on my experience as a group leader on a
hung council (sometimes the leader of the largest but
more often the second-largest group) – and one who
was not aligned politically to the national Government,I have pondered what advice I might offer to a group
leader who found themselves on a hung council.
My starting point would be to ask the simple question:
‘How can we best serve the people of this place;
and how can we do that in ways that are consistent with
our party and my personal values and commitments’?
Answering these questions requires principled pragmatism.
It also requires willingness to compromise but
equally an ability to step aside if the price of power or
the compromise is too great.
Leaders and their party colleagues have been elected
to serve their communities and to implement certain
policies. The electorate expects that councillors will do
what they can to deliver on their promises. They will
also expect them to put ‘place’ before short-term partisan
interests. The public will not understand why their
interests have been cast aside simply because the pursuit
of the right policies are too difficult or may be politically
messy.
Being a group or council leader is never easy. It is
most challenging on a hung authority. It demands
effective leadership shaped by values and steered using
a political compass. I offer 10 tips to leaders on hung
councils:
- Evaluate and understand the political dynamics and
balance of power on the authority and the potential
power/influence that your group could potentially
have - Be clear what you as a minority leader and a cabinet
which may or may not be single party can achieve
both administratively and politically without reference
to the full council - If you lead the majority group, you have to consider
- If there is an agreed ‘coalition’ deal with one or more
other groups or a minority administration programme,
decide how this is to be progressed and ensure
that the senior officers understand what will be
required of them subject to the rules and the protocols - Communicate what you are doing and why: to the
public via the media and directly whenever possible;
to party colleagues outside the council so they understand
what and why; and to all other key stakeholders.
This will involve having to explain what you may
no longer be able to do as a consequence of not having
a majority of members. Build coalitions of interest
external of the council to support your policies
and positions and to put pressure on the other groups - Remain committed to your principles and values and
to doing what is best for the people, communities
and economy of your place
Councillors, including leaders, have major responsibilities
to their communities, the council staff and wider
local economy, especially in a period of austerity.
If the council is hung, councillors and leaders have
a further responsibility to ensure that their council is
effective and does the best it can for and with the local
community.
They must ensure that it remains politically led and
does not succumb to being driven by technocratic administrators.
Over the next few days and weeks in different places,
different approaches will be adopted which fit local circumstances.
These may not be right from day one, but
what matters is that there is a genuine attempt to put
‘place’ first while still honouring political values and
principles.