Yesterday I attended the Beacon Youth Centre along with around 60 young people from Worsley, Walkden and Little Hulton for a Youth Forum event. The Council is rightly looking at ways to involve children and young adults in the decision-making process, and yesterday’s event was intended to encourage those attending to get involved further.
Along with my colleague Cllr Christine Gray, I was asked to host one of the workshops on local government and local democracy. I’m very grateful to Patrick from Bridgewater Youth Centre who ran the workshop with us and to the Community Development Worker Chris Tucker who joined us and provided valuable input.
The main thrust of our workshop was to find out some of the issues that concerned children and young adults in the local area, and then get across some of the ways in which they can get involved and make the changes they want to see. As is often the case, I learned a lot from the discussions myself. I am always keen to hear the opinions of local residents - whatever their age - on the issues that affect our local community and it is always refreshing to hear difference perspectives.
There were a number of workshops on the day, including the police, ranger service, youth service, sports development officers and the drug and alcohol action team.
At the end of the workshops, all those attending were given a post-it note and asked to write down one thing they had learned from the day.
The picture on the right shows my favourite note.
It was also really pleasing to see that most of those attending signed up to hear about future events.
You do seem to be a really good councillor bud. Not sure if I could so all this kinda stuff locally but credit to you for doing it well!
Indeed! It is a great shame that there are not more councillors of Iain’s quality, commitment and integrity on Salford Council. Look at senior Labour figures Merry and Warmisham’s record on meeting and engaging with the public…
They are afraid even to attend a public meeting with anybody standing up for St. George’s and instead send minions on their behalf because they can’t handle the real world outside the council chamber. That’s the sort of spineless behaviour that justifies the low esteem in which they are held by large swathes of the ordinary Salford populace.
Though the Tories are presently out of power in Salford it is clear that only they are a beacon of hope, a ray of light breaking through the darkness of the Labour shroud which has benighted and impoverished the city for so long. I look forward to the day when Lindley, not Merry, will lead Salford Council and mark my words that day will come, for Labour’s days of dominance are numbered and will diminish henceforth with each passing election.
Even in Salford - despite the ‘apathy’ - there comes a time when the people rise up and say “Enough is Enough!” I believe in miracles, I know they happen every day; I will join with many to applaud the final demise of the Labour beast on the appointed day when the Conservative Party receives from the electorate the keys to the city, and the previous stewards are dismissed to depart in shameful disarray for the wilderness assigned them.