Learn something new every day, develop your skills, and get inspired! Becoming a councillor will open you up to a new wealth of opportunities, which you can pursue based on your talents and your interests. Levels of responsibility are not based purely on length of service – we value you as individuals, and aim to find the roles that best suit your experience and expertise, as well as how much time you are able to offer.

Here’s a quick snapshot of some of the roles and opportunities that you might be doing as a councillor. Of course, they will vary depending on where you are based and what the pressing issues are for your local council, but this list gives you a broad idea about some of the ways that you can be involved:

• Area or Neighbourhood Committees or Community Councils
• Executive/Cabinet or shadow Executive/Cabinet
• Scrutiny or Review Committees
• Mayor
• Audit committee, pensions, appeals, standards and other panels
• Champions
• Corporate Parenting
• Regulatory Committees

Area or Neighbourhood Committees or Community Councils

Councillors and local residents meet regularly to discuss and make decisions about local issues. As with any committee you could end up being chair, vice-chair or perhaps chair of a sub-committee. This allows you to really focus on local issues and on improving the lives of the residents in your community, by listening to the people, and taking relevant action.

Executive/Cabinet or shadow Executive/Cabinet

This is the part of the council responsible for the day-to-day decisions. It is made up of a Leader, who is an elected councillor, and up to 9 other elected councillors. A shadow cabinet, just like in the house of commons, is the opposition party’s version of the cabinet. You don’t have to be an expert to do one of these roles – the most important skill is being able to ask the right questions and maintain a vision about how you want things to be done. You are a leader, making decisions to implement Liberal Democrat policies every day that will affect your local and neighbouring communities.

“Last year was a huge year for the city. I was honoured to be leader during this time and witness first-hand the growth in confidence the whole city experienced. Liverpool has been placed back on the map nationally and internationally, it’s beginning to shrug off the old perceptions of a militant city and is now an exciting place to work.” Cllr Warren Bradley, Leader, Liverpool city council

Scrutiny or Review Committees

These committees work like a select committee in Parliament, and they vary from council to council. The committee has several major functions, such as hearing call-ins of decisions made by the executive, and undertaking reviews of services and policies that are affecting local communities. As a councilor in this role, you might do work-shadowing, site-visits, and meetings with other councils to look at best practice and how things might be done differently. You can see here some examples around the country of reviews undertaken in the area of children and young people or Bath and North East Somerset’s review of post office

Mayor

One of the most high-profile roles – Lord Mayor, Mayor, or Council Chairman. Broadly speaking, the Mayor’s role is to chair meetings of the council and to act as a kind of conscience for the decisions that are made. The Mayor also takes on a series of public engagements throughout the year, acting as the area’s ‘First Citizen’ –school visits, attending community groups, opening events to welcoming official visitors, being present when a member of the Royal Family attends a function in the area, and presiding at civic occassions throughout the year. A very special office, your year of office as mayor will not be one that you forget in a hurry!

Audit committee, pensions, appeals, standards and other panels

As a councillor, the buck stops with you. This means you need to know that the organisation is running well, that the staff are happy, that the finances are in order, and that risk is well managed.

Champions

This role ensures leadership in specific areas that need focus – you could be the champion for certain demographics such as youth, or maybe look at an element of the running and marketing of the party that needs work, such as design, or perhaps focus on an umbrella area such as equalities and rights. A fantastic way to develop expertise in a subject that you are interested in.

“Today was going to be different. I am a member of Leicester city council’s disability partnership board and since I had been made a Special Olympics ambassador I felt I needed to get some experience of some form of disability. Fortunately Ian Bradwell, a local campaigner” Cllr Dave Keeling Leicester city council

Corporate Parenting

County and Unity authorities look after children in care, and every councillor is a corporate parent –a crucial role, ensuring the welfare of children on adoption and fostering panels.

Regulatory Committees

The council is responsible for quasi-judicial roles within the council. A more formal role driven by government policy, this role nonetheless allows you to shape and make changes in your local area.