Cllr Iain Lindley's Diary

1 Response to “Follow Me On Twitter”

1. 1 Councillor Martin O'Neill
   Oct 15th, 2008 at 7:29 am

   Hello Iain,

   I just wondered what your thoughts were on the article on Cllr Houlton in the M.E.N. Whilst I dont want to focus on Cllr Houlton in particular, the issue behind the story is interesting.
   Is becoming a Councillor the domain of the semi or full retired. Is the right to represent your community soely the right of those who are given cabinet posts, posts with outside agencies, police, fire, transport etc that enables them to recieve allowances that make it feasable for them to make Councillor work a full time occupation.
   Does the fact that the majority of members who fit in to above categories give them the right to castigate those who dont and need to work. When Salford Council all but shuts it doors at 5pm. When no council meetings are in the evening, when no scrutiny meetings are in the evening. I am not talking about one extreme or the other but a small rotation at best. Something that would allow some flexibility. If not for us as members but for the public we serve who wish to see what goes on in council.
   Myself, I work. Combining with my council work can make my days run from 6:30am till 9:30pm and this spreads to weekend. I dont like some members put out of office replys on my emails after 5pm. Yet my desire to work to the timetable of the residents I was elected by instead of those in the council has left me open to calls of being a ‘free-loader’.
   There are issues with Cllr Houlton I do not wish to discuss apart from the fact that from my own experience in Council, if can be more like the schoolyard than a place for political discussion.

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