The Association for Public Service Excellence's (APSE's) latest report – Striving to Thrive - based on a wide-ranging survey of councillors from across the UK, comes at a time of acute pressure and peril for the local government sector. The declaration of section.114s is now a regular fixture in the national news, indicative of years of austerity and underfunding, with council budgets tightening against increasingly complex and voluminous demands on services.

Unsurprisingly the survey revealed widespread frustration amongst councillors, many of whom feel unable to deliver for their local communities. Over seven in 10 respondents stated the financial position of their authority was preventing service improvement; less than half agreed that they could personally contribute towards service improvement in their role as elected members. Many also reported feeling ‘overwhelmed' and ‘broken' by the pressures of their roles.

Rather than being able to advocate for the kind of service changes and improvements that are expected by their constituents, councillors are increasingly focused on trying to maintain services that are struggling with shrinking budgets and growing demands. Furthermore, the concerns raised a decade ago in our 2014 survey regarding policy stagnation are even more acute. Obstacles to effective policy development and implementation vary across authorities. However, they broadly point towards a failure – at least in the eyes of councillors – of the much-lauded devolution and localism deals. Half of all respondents expressed concern over an increasing centralisation of power and sidelining of elected members, and very few believed that integrated health boards would increase the voice of local authorities. 

Adding to this sense of malaise is the shocking statistic that 81.2% of respondents had reported an incident of intimidation or harassment from the public, with one in five reporting that a safety action plan had to be put in place to protect councillors or officers. These responses paint a gloomy picture of the morale amongst councillors, who often feel as though they are undervalued and lack the appropriate level of democratically bestowed power, all while they live in fear of abuse, assault, or worse. 

The survey suggests that local councillors perceive their role as one of managing rationed services rather than focusing on improvements and innovation. This is frustrating not only for councillors but voters too. Local elections already suffer from low turnout and are primarily viewed by the media as a barometer for the accuracy of national opinion polls, as opposed to a crucial part of our democratic framework and system of government. Years of underfunding across local government has led to an erosion of the social contract - the services that were once there to help people through difficult periods of their lives have been cut to the bone, and within councils the very visible neighbourhood services have suffered much deeper cuts than other areas of the public sector.

Most people's interaction with the state is at the local level. Potholes, leisure centres, refuse collections, libraries, and parks directly impact how people perceive their quality of life - and by extension, the effectiveness of democracy. 

If we are now in a position where a significant number of councillors feel they cannot make an impactful change and are having power pulled away from them- despite the promises of devolution and localism - we must urgently evaluate the current arrangements for elected members. APSE is calling on the Government to ensure councillors are given the appropriate support, recognition, power, and protection to enable them to carry out their roles. Local authorities should evaluate the democratic decision-making process to ensure councillors are fully consulted and engaged in decisions impacting their wards and that robust mechanisms are in place to allow councillors to carry out their responsibilities as elected representatives – including the possibility of implementing alternative political structures to ensure appropriate democratic oversight. Finally, remuneration practices for councillors should be standardised across the UK and in areas such as maternity and paternity leave and pensions it is essential that councillors are brought further into line with that of MPs.

We must move away from the idea that councillors and local government are somehow ‘second rate'. This sense of elitism is patronising and offensive to those who dedicate their lives to representing people and their interests at a local level. One could argue this also perpetuates the growing sense that positive and impactful change is not possible, further eroding trust in local democracy. If people cannot see improvements in their locality, and instead see local services struggling to survive how can they place their trust in the system as a whole? 

• Striving to Thrive was developed in collaboration with Staffordshire, De Montfort, Leeds Beckett and Essex Universities led by Professor Steven Griggs, Dr Jonathan Rose, Neil Barnett and David Howarth.

Mo Baines is chief executive of the Association for Public Service Excellence and a visiting professor at Staffordshire University

X – @BainesMo