Getting the councillors we need for the 21st century

The role of councillors has never been more important, with local government reorganisation set to reduce their number while ministers aim to enhance their role in their communities. But there are concerns that council chambers do not reflect local populations, potential candidates are being put off from standing, and good councillors are not standing for re-election. As LGC launches its Councillors for the 21st Century campaign, Andrew Ferrier, chief executive of Test Valley BC, Catherine Mangan, professor of public management and leadership at the Institute of Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham, and Ryan Jude, a cabinet member at Westminster City Council, discuss the barriers councillors face, and how to overcome them. This episode was recorded live at Stronger Things 2025.

You can listen to Getting the councillors we need for the 21st century online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Getting the councillors we need for the 21st century is an episode from The Local Authority Podcast by LGC.

This episode is 53:10 long.

This episode was published on Jul 16, 2025.

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