Councillors need to act like grown ups

Last week in Nailsworth it was reported that the town council had a spat over committees. Ah, how delightful, how unsurprising: politicians squabbling over an issue their electorate are not concerned about.

The squabble concerned the re-introduction of a sub-committee system following a six-month trial period.

Six months.

Give me strength.

Eventually, the council voted the system in, only for the deputy-mayor to then argue that sub-committees were a waste of time, and for several members to subsequently protest at the change, despite the council voting in favour of the system.

This then all led to an argument breaking out, with one councillor threatening to leave the meeting.

And the daftness of all this, the unnecessary rattle-out-of-the-pram reactions, the ‘I will walk out’ statements, the silly protesting on what has been a democratically-made decision reminds me of London and of the Punch and Judy politics that is Westminster.

Because, the way I see it, politicians have a tendency to regress as soon as they walk into any political chamber.

Whether it is a council room, the House of Lords or the backbench during Prime Minister’s Questions, many elected members shout, jeer and – why oh why - even laugh sometimes.

Do they not realise how bad this looks?

And how do we, the electorate, react to this appalling behaviour?

We lose all confidence.

Never mind that I personally think the sub-committee system is a load of bobbins, the point is that the school ground squabbling that preceded the vote was wholly unacceptable.

Yes, please, politicians, debate major issues – poverty, the foodbank crisis, more playgrounds, fighting crime, making more efficient use of our council taxes – anything but the petty shambles that is the current approach to their discussions.

I expect my children to act with better manners; indeed, how do they think kids growing up will ever want to engage in politics if these councillors are the example they are being given?

It’s high time councillors and elected members all over Gloucestershire and the UK got real and got some manners.

Who knows?

They could surprise us and actually start acting differently, acting like, heaven forbid, grown ups.

Otherwise our response to their bad behaviour will be swift and decisive: we will vote them out.

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