Homeless woman’s speech touches South Kesteven District Council opposition leader Graham Jeal

A speech by a homeless woman in a council meeting touched South Kesteven District Council opposition leader Graham Jeal. He writes:

Some people say that councillors have more days off than Father Christmas, but that's not true at all.

In the past, training for councillors was pretty basic, usually just being pointed in the direction of more experienced councillors. Things have changed. Many councillors or cabinet members are new and don't have much experience, so council officers have been putting us through our paces with lots and lots and lots of training to help us do our job better.

Being a councillor is not easy. Earlier in the year, electing people to chair different committees was discussed, but that idea got filed under "too difficult".

Big promises about reopening leisure centres now make uncomfortable reading for those that made them, and the litter on the A1 road is still there, which is highly frustrating.

The leader [Councillor Richard Cleaver, Ind] even made a video pretending there was no problem, driving past the litter we all know is there. See for yourself here: https://tinyurl.com/70mphinspection

You know what's surprising? Even though the council is under new leadership, not much has actually changed since the election. People who wanted things to be different must be wondering why the new cabinet includes former Conservative Party members. Most of the council work we're doing is just finishing what the last administration started.

Last week, something really important happened during a council committee meeting. Someone gave a speech that reminded us that the decisions we make affect people's lives every day.

The new administration have created several new committees. At first, it looked like they were just making up new paid jobs for their Labour, Liberal, Green and Independent supporters whom they rely on. But I've been impressed by how these committees are working and how they are chaired.

During a meeting about housing, a brave member of the public who had been homeless because of domestic violence spoke up. She had been sleeping outside on the streets of Grantham for 33 days, and she wanted answers. She didn't get any answers, but it was a powerful reminder for the administration and those that run the council of how decisions impact upon people's lives.

Like Father Christmas you might be taking a break in August, but being in charge of our council services means there are no days off.