# Local Politics [[Articles]] #politics - [Post 2024 General Election](#Post%202024%20General%20Election) A few months after retiring I came across a [Ted Talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/dr_riley_moynes_the_4_phases_of_retirement?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare) which looked at the four phases of retirement. The fourth phase, which not everyone attains, is the phase of happiness; a phase of 'giving back', of contributing to the community or society as a whole, of having a purpose. It has elements of ikigai: I was (still am) seeking my ikigai. The opportunity presented itself for me to get involved in local politics. I joined the party, paid my subscription and got invited to the local branch meetings. The first thing that struck me was the relatively low attendance, there were over a hundred registered local party supporters but less than 10 at the meeting. A couple of those present had been party members for years, others, like me, had only been members for a few weeks. The talk was of the impending local elections, and the need to identify candidates. One such candidate had started their political career with a different party, got elected to the local council, and then switched to independent. They’d now switched to this party, a switch that I suspect had more to do with personal ambition than the good of the community. Subsequent meetings made it clear that the local council achieved little progress on important issues, due to party political rivalry. I didn't attended any council meetings but the reports of proceedings were illuminating; the chamber (described as ‘the bear pit’) was divided along political lines with local issues serving as a means to score political advantage, with scant regard for the needs of the community; sound proposals being voted down by the ‘other side’. With the local elections approaching, the inevitable door-knocking took place. Strangely, the local candidate for the ward where I ‘knocked’ didn't bother turning up. I naively thought that the canvassing was intended to be the basis for a local community-driven manifesto - wrong. It was more of a box-ticking exercise for the central office. The subsequent policy meeting did not refer to canvassing data, but instead consisted of a PowerPoint of key generic pledges cascaded from on-high, the kind of stuff guaranteed to generate votes. These pledges were to form the bedrock of the local campaign. I asked how the party planned on delivering these pledges, after all, how can you promise delivery without a plan? There was no plan, it was all a ruse to deliver sufficient seats to gain control of the local council. I was becoming seriously disillusioned with the local party, and them with me - don't question policy and pledges. A couple of new members had good intentions, but I was sceptical of the motivation of the branch management - the ‘top-table’. There had been some movement of candidates between local wards; a genuinely hard-working and committed member had been moved from a safe ward seat to stand in a marginal one, making way for one of the ‘top-table’ to take his place. Result - ‘top-table’ got elected and the member did not. I’d been calling for the local branch to improve its community communication, more transparency and accountability. I’d started work on a social media campaign but soon realised that my efforts were being thwarted. I thought initially that it was apathy on the part of the ‘top-table’, information being promised but never materialising; too many requests were being ignored for this to be a coincidence - there was little interest in transparency and accountability. I was informed by the ‘top table’ that social media had no place in campaigning (contrary to what the central office was saying), as no one bothered looking at it. The local town and district elections arrived. The lack of candidates for the town council saw candidates elected by default, not a single vote needed to be cast. At district level voting took place and branch candidates were elected; their success had more to do with the national political mood. In the run-up to the election the branch WhatsApp group had been very active, a different story once the votes had been cast. Almost overnight the messaging from the ‘top table’ stopped, members having served their purpose. A new WhatsApp group was now operating exclusively for elected councillors within the branch - grassroots members were not included. I decided that it was time to leave. At my last meeting, before I quit the party, I explained there was no point in trying to continue with a communication strategy on my part, best leave it to the inner circle of elected members. I was advised that the inner circle had indeed been considering setting up a communication committee - over a year hence and there’s zero evidence that this has happened, social media has all but dried up and the local community has been complaining about the lack of communication - “councillors in hiding....”. A year on from the election and nothing appears to have been done to deliver on the local pledges. As the country approaches a general election there have been some noises at the district level of ‘great plans’ for the local area, another vote winning ruse? I’ve resigned as a party member, disillusioned by the ethos behind local branch activity. It may have been an unfortunate case of the wrong characters seating themselves at the ‘top table’, more interested in personal advancement than the good of the community. Having spoken to members of other local parties it would appear this is a common problem. No one at the branch has subsequently asked me why I quit. Having seen local issues getting bogged down by party political rivalry, I concluded that party politics has no place in local government. The most active local councillors, who were doing the most for the community, appeared to be the independents, unhindered by party politics. General Election? Nationally I feel I must vote for the party, no real alternative, but the local branch has done nothing to promote my support - quite the opposite. ### Post 2024 General Election It would appear that I'm not alone in being disillusioned. The local councillors failed to get their candidate elected to parliament, it should have been an open goal, but **they failed the local people.** --- **Badly misquoted:** > The characteristics that make for a good politician are the very characteristics that should bar them from ever standing for office.