Spring is here, and that normally means only one thing: the local city council elections. But happily perhaps, they’re not on this year. Not because they were cancelled (as happened in a few parts of the UK this year) – but because every four years, there’s a break in the election cycle. We restart again next May (2026): hang in there.
However, brilliantly, there’s been a whole lot of local democracy going on. There was the big local storm, about the controversial planning application on Grovehall Drive in Beeston, as reported in last month’s newspaper. This was a sterling example of local people getting organised, challenging, probing, speaking up, making noise; and the media played a key part in turning up the dial, and building pressure.
The dispute around the planned changes to the Tempest Road – Dewsbury Road junction has been similarly fascinating. Council highways officers (with the best of intentions, I’d argue) are proposing a certain solution to this accident hotspot – but residents, led by the Beeston Hill Community Association, are unconvinced. Again, they’ve done brilliantly to spark and harness local interest and engagement. Scores of people have met, shared ideas – and spoken up in the media, online, and via the official community consultation. For the record, I believe one of the alternative proposals conceived by a local resident is entirely affordable and credible.
The community association team also met with the highways officers, trying to find common ground and agreement. Years ago (November 2021), I wrote a South Leeds Life feature about ‘the hedgehog and the fox’: that is, the crucial importance of blending ‘amateur’ (eg local) and ‘expert’ (eg professional) insights and wisdom, for good decision-making and results for a community. This recent process typifies this. Ultimately, residents might not get the result they want: it’s in the balance. But local groups do get results, sometimes against the odds, when they get organised and speak up; we certainly get little or nothing if we don’t speak up.
Speaking for myself, I – as a local political representative – am hungry for challenge. Political representatives need to be pushed, stretched, questioned. We don’t and can’t know everything. Life is complex, a muddle, and it’s not always easy to piece together events and dynamics, to get a full understanding of any given situation. More, not less, community dialogue and involvement is invaluable.
I’d particularly urge communities to get more organised and mobilised: when residents act in harmony, it massively increases their chances of being heard, and taken seriously. And if people don’t feel they’re being well served, I trust they might get involved in the elections, and even perhaps themselves stand as candidates. The more dynamic and plural the political landscape, the better, for everyone.
Indeed, the world’s in a pickle. As individuals and communities, we clearly face many challenges. And no-one’s better placed or more likely to fight for us, than us. Let’s build and nurture more powerful communities. Elections are part of that, but only one component. The media (social, and mainstream) have a key role to play. Once again, community associations and organisations are hugely useful – to muster and channel local aspirations and demands.
Let’s develop more work in schools that enables young people to understand politics, and also recognise their own capacity to create change. I was in a Hunslet primary school this week, being peppered with brilliant questions, and we discussed how young people needn’t wait to turn 18 to become ‘political’ – just look at Greta Thunberg. And education isn’t just about schools. How can we all together inform and inspire one another, about big social and political issues? (But as we do so, we need also to foster a culture of curiosity and respectful debate, especially when we disagree.)
Finally, at the recent Youth Summit, we were discussing with local youngsters how ‘democracy’ means ‘power of the people’. (It’s sometimes described as ‘rule of the people’, but the Greek word ‘kratos’ is better translated as ‘power’.) Power is not elsewhere. We all have power. Our words carry power. Our relationships carry power. Our actions carry power. How can we each develop and enact power, in our lives, in our communities, and help make things better?
This post was written by Cllr Ed Carlisle
Photo: Members of Beeston Hill Community Association at the Tempest Road junction
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