When I was asked to write about celebrating and encouraging diversity in local government, I thought it sounded straightforward. But it did not take me long to realise that, when it comes to diversity, local government, like other parts of the public sector, still has a long way to go.

Too often, sitting councillors from a certain mould select new candidates who fit very comfortably into that same cast. We need to break the self-selection process that sees the constant filling of the ranks with ‘mini-mes'