Not Just For the People. With Them.

When we talk about local leadership, we often focus on what decisions get made. But we rarely stop to ask how those decisions are made and who truly gets to shape them.

Since being elected to Hertfordshire County Council, I’ve found myself reflecting on that question more than ever. Not just in the chamber but across local government. Because the challenge isn’t just about policy. It is about culture.

And culture is what determines whether someone feels welcome to speak or expected to stay quiet.

Too often, leadership looks like outcomes explained after the fact. Decisions made in sealed-off rooms. It might tick the boxes, but it does not build trust.

Real leadership begins elsewhere. It starts with presence, not performance.It means showing your working, not just your answers.It means treating power not as something to protect but as something to share.

If we want people to believe in local democracy, we need to design for it on purpose. That means:

• Creating the space for residents to shape decisions early, not late

• Building in co-ownership, not just consultation

• Making scrutiny feel constructive, not performative

• Bringing more voices into the decisions that affect them most

  
  

We need representation that earns trust not only through decisions made, but through the way those decisions are shared, explained and shaped over time.

The best answers are rarely found in silos. They live in communities, in lived experience, in conversation.

Across committees, civic spaces and council offices, we have an opportunity.

To lead in a way that listens.

To serve in a way that empowers.

To govern in a way that builds trust before authority.

That is the kind of service I believe in. And that is the kind I will keep working for, wherever the decision is made and whoever it is meant to serve.