I am now at the beginning of my third year as a councillor,
and the learning curve continues!
Before I talk about my own work, however, I would like to
pay tribute to my ward colleague, Cllr Molly Walton, who retired in May this
year.
I have known Molly since joining the Labour Party when I was
fifteen. She has given me immeasurable support since becoming a councillor, but
was also one of the main people in the party who first encouraged my interest
in politics and supported me. She was phenomenally hard working, politically
astute, but more importantly she was kind to people who needed help and had
nowhere else to turn.
Everyone in the community knows her and speaks highly of
her, and the fact that she has received such heartfelt tributes - from
colleagues across the political spectrum - is a credit to her. I know she plans
to continue involvement in community work, but she will be greatly missed in
Kirklees Labour Group and beyond.
I am pleased however that we returned Cllr Manisha Kaushik
in the May elections to take over from Molly - she was a hardworking candidate
and I’m sure she will make a good councillor.
It’s not an easy time for local government at the moment,
but I hope that over the last year I have done my part to support residents,
groups, communities and the council to get through this difficult period.
My casework continues to be very varied: the typical missed
bin collections and dog fouling right through to domestic violence, mental
health issues, harassment and other personal issues.
I support as many local groups as I can, and am looking
forward to working with volunteers locally for another year. There are some
fantastic innovations in the pipeline so all I can say is watch this space.
There have been difficult times for Crosland Moor and
Netherton this year. The news that a suicide bomber in Iraq was reportedly from
our area shocked the community. We also experienced two knife-related incidents
within a short space of time. I want to work closely with local people to make
sure that our community is safe, that victims are supported, but also to ensure
that we work to prevent people from turning to crime.
From a council perspective, I have enjoyed the last year on
Cabinet with responsibility for Family Support and Child Protection. It has not
been without its challenges, but we have achieved some great things too and I would
like to pay tribute to the strong leadership shown by Cllr David Sheard, who
has taken the council through some of the most difficult times in its history.
I am looking forward to another year on council - there will
be some tough decisions to make, but we have a responsibility to the people who
elect us to steer Kirklees through a very difficult budget.
