Words of wisdom ? – part 2

Some more potential word’s of wisdom to new councillor’s, this time from near neighbour Cllr Tim of Barnsley.

Cllr Tim normally blog’s here and is on twitter at www.twitter.com/cllrtim , but these word’s of wisdom / top tips for new councillor’s appear on the Guardian’s local government network blog and can be viewed by clicking here.

The most useful part in my mind as noted below is a quick reminder that whilst we might aim to change the world, sometimes it takes a little longer and sometimes you have to say no :

They also won’t tell you that there will be good days and bad days. You will have a clear vision of how to take up a case, who to contact, how to do it, what sort of service to expect. What you won’t be prepared for are the ones you lose. And lose some you will.

The plain truth is: sometimes the answer is No. Nobody likes to hear that, but you will often be required to tell them all the same. We all come through a successful election convinced that we can now change the world. We very quickly find out that we can’t even get Mrs Jones a new fence this year. It will humble you, but don’t let it dispirit you. Just accept that some cases are harder than others and you can’t win them all.