The following article by Cllr Alice Gilderdale, Statutory Deputy Leader with Executive Responsibility for Economy and Skills, was published in Cambridge Independent on 23 October 2024 (pages 26 and 27).
Growing up just outside of Cambridge, I was lucky enough to enjoy summer afternoons swimming at the Jesus Green Lido, spending hours playing on the zipwire at the Nightingale Recreation Ground, learning to ride my bike in the Park and Ride car park and dancing at the wonderful Folk Festival to Patti Smith and First Aid Kit.
Now age 27, I’ve never left Cambridge (apart from an eight month break before I returned for University), and while I joke I’ve got stuck here, living and working in this wonderful city is a privilege which I am fully aware I enjoy.
Despite studying politics and sociology at both sixth form and university, when I was first elected in May 2021, I had little understanding of the extent of local government, and how Cambridgeshire’s local authorities had shaped the city and my life here. Being a councillor for over three years now, I’ve been lucky enough to gain a better understanding of the importance of local authorities and their vital work in cities and communities. While it’s true that local authorities across the country are suffering from years of austerity, enforced by severe funding cuts, I’ve been lucky to join a council which is working hard to find exciting solutions and deliver real change for residents.
When I first stood for election in 2021, I was supported by the Renters’ union ACORN and soon became not only the youngest city councillor at the time, but one of the few who was currently renting privately in the city. Over my first two years, I spent a lot of time talking about the realities of private renting in Cambridge and suggesting ways in which the council could better support people stuck in the everyday nightmare of the private rental sector in the midst of a housing crisis. It was incredibly important to me that these issues were raised which weren’t necessarily on the council’s radar (or part of their mandatory service provision).
Thankfully, the council is committed to doing everything it can to address the housing affordability crisis in Cambridge. This includes developing ways to support private renters, calling for the government to scrap Right to Buy legislation and building as many council homes as we can afford; last year we built more council homes per capita than almost all other councils in the country.
Most recently, I’ve been involved in shaping the council’s new Community Wealth Building strategy, looking at how we consider our role as an employer, procurer of goods and services and owner of land and buildings and how to best use these levers to develop and support our local economy. While those are long-term projects I’ve been a part of, it’s important for us to also celebrate some of our small wins. I’m probably more excited by lampposts than the average person, and subsequently overjoyed that I have been granted the single lamppost I applied for about a year ago for Five Trees Park.
I’ve proposed motions at full council – one standing in solidarity with striking workers and opposing the previous government’s ‘Minimum Service Levels Bill’, and most recently calling on the government to stop selling arms to Israel while committing to reconsider the council’s banking arrangements with Barclays.
While there’s plenty of things I love about being a councillor, as with all jobs, it does have its drawbacks which I think are important to highlight.
The hours that councillors work are long and anti-social (most evenings in my week are taken up with meetings, often not finishing before 9pm, and sometimes after midnight), the pay is desperately low (as Deputy Leader of the council my stipend before tax is under £22,000 per year). In order to be able to live in an expensive city like Cambridge, councillors cannot afford to live on such low salaries.
As a result, councillors usually have another job, or other forms of income, or are retired with pensions (and often in a more solid position on the housing ladder). This leads to poor representation of young people, women and minority groups on councils. While Cambridge City Council may be slightly better than most, the average age of councillors in England is about 60 years old. When I attended the Local Government Association’s ‘Young Councillors’ weekender, I was shocked to find out that you only had to be under 40 to qualify as a ‘young councillor’!
I think it’s important that we are honest with our residents about the realities of the role when we talk about our work. In the three and half years of being a councillor, I’ve always felt I should be doing more, and I think I’m learning to come to terms with the fact that you will never feel like you’ve done enough, or that there’s more you can do.
Recently, I’ve had a few conversations with people who are considering standing to be councillors*, and I’m thrilled that young people are aware of these opportunities and want to put themselves forward. We desperately need more young people and people from all walks of life standing as councillors, to fully represent the city where we live and work and develop better policies for the communities we represent.
*The next local elections for Cambridge City Council are due to take place in May 2026. If you would like to consider standing to be a local councillor, visit local.gov.uk/be-councillor to find out more.
