Political leadership can be lonely and sometimes council leaders will feel potentially vulnerable when they are being held to account by the electorate for the decisions and actions of others.
Leadership of place means that a modern council leader has to accept political accountability for a range of outcomes, issues and activities over which she or he has little or no direct control. The introduction of Local Area Agreements, not to mention Multi Area Agreements and the Comprehensive Area Assessment will bring the spot light on local authorities and their political leaders in an unprecedented way.
The council Leader and her/his political leadership colleagues have to find ways to influence all the agencies and organisations that contribute to commissioning and delivering public services in the areas; to the economic and social well being of the area; and to the local environment. They have to find ways of holding others to account on behalf of the community.
However, public engagement though civil society means that local government whilst being the only directly elected body accountable through the ballot box is not the only source of public engagement and accountability. Local government has to understand this whilst demonstrating its leadership role.
The effective political leader and council leader will not be concerned about structures and some times legal competency. He/she will use their political position to influence and lever change – this is a resource that should not be undervalued.
A second issue relates to transparency to the public – complex partnerships can be opaque. With several hundred partnership and collaborative arrangements in any locality having an impact on local citizens it is vital they understand who to hold to account; who to influence; whom to complain; and how to get redress.
Thirdly partnership and collaboration do not occur because they are labelled as such. There is a need to invest time and resources in building mutual understanding between the partners; creating trust; aligning objectives and values and setting key measurable outcomes. Nottingham’s experience has demonstrated the importance of recognising and resourcing such an approach.
Local partnerships are challenging. They are inevitable. They need to be taken seriously.
