How local are our Councillors?
This is the first column I’ve written for a while so I’ll start off with Happy New Year!
When I was a Councillor I was also a lollipop lady and I used to carry a pen and paper so I could make notes about all the different problems that people used to come to me with. Residents knew I was there and, because I lived in my ward, I was easily contacted.
Most of E8 is in four wards: Dalston, Hackney Central, Haggerston and Queensbridge. Each has three Councillors. Of those twelve, how many do you suppose actually live in their wards? The answer? – Two. Only one actually lives in the E8 postcode. Poor old Dalston and Queensbridge have got no local residents as Councillors at all!
So when the candidates come knocking on your doors over the next few months for the election, chances are they won’t be asking you for your vote, they’ll be asking you for directions.
for a map
