How does the political make up of the council make a difference to the relationship between officers and members?
The balance of power can be very different from one LA to another and can of course change suddenly or almost never. The most common situations are, the party in power has a large majority, there is no overall majority, the party in power frequently changes, the party in power has always been in power. In addition to the political make up of the council/LA whether the relationship between parties is characterised by cooperation or conflict will be determined by personalities and history as much as ideological differences. This relationship between the parties affects how officers operate. I worked in one LA where officers were actively discouraged from meeting with opposition members out side of committee, it was seen as a question of loyalty. At another it was established practice to routinely hold individual briefings for opposition spokes persons.
I have worked in LA’s where the Leader and Cabinet are assertive in setting the agenda and expect officers to draw up a business case to support members proposals outlining how these would be implemented. Elsewhere I have experienced proactive CE‘s and senior management teams producing committee reports in response to government guidance and expectations. If officers misjudge the political will then the report will be down graded to an officers discussion paper. The key officer /member relationship is between the leader of the council and the chief executive, this relationship sets the tone with in the organisation. CE’s used to working with one leader and one party with overall control can come unstuck moving to a hung council where they have 3 leaders as their boss. A CE can be too closely associated with the previous administration to retain the confidence of the new administration. I remember talking to a chief executive who was in the process of appointing officers to his senior management team. He felt very in tune with the new administration, excited about the future and secure in his part with in it. Two years latter two seats changed in the local elections, the party in power changed and he was out. CE’s are like senior civil servants they pride themselves on their professionalism believing they can work with any leader and party irrespective of their ideology. This is being tested in some councils where far right candidates have been elected. CE have also had to adjust to the introduction of directly elected Mayors in some authorities. The complication arises when the successful Mayoral candidate is not a member of the ruling group, again a case of answering to two bosses.
It’s not just an election that can change the CE boss(s) The Night of the long knives refers to a situation where the ruling party has internal strife which results in one group suddenly over throwing another and replacing the leader with their own choice. Clearly the CE is impartial and would not want to be implicated in any plotting but neither do they want to end up on the wrong side. Totally loyal to Caesar until it’s clear the stab wounds are fatal and then totally loyal to their successor whose leadership qualities they always recognised.
Despite the professionalism it is fair to say some CE’s and some senior managers are more suited to some situations than others.
Blair Mcpherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
