Following Keir Starmer’s recent misstep, it would be simple to focus on the apparent disorder he generates.

Yet between submitting my article early Monday and its publication in the Argus on Wednesday, who could have predicted what fresh error the unpredictable Keir might commit?

Perhaps by the time you read this, developments regarding Mandelson’s security clearance issue may have surfaced. For this week’s offering, I’ll instead rely on what a Labour source reportedly stated to the Sunday Times about the Mandelson matter: at some point, being regarded as untruthful seemed preferable to appearing completely incompetent, and this threshold had been crossed.

Sir Keir Starmer has secured support from Government ministers (PA)

Rather than elaborating further on Starmer, I’ll instead reflect on how last Saturday marked forty years since I gained election to the former Brighton Borough Council as a local member. I became the first non-Conservative representative for Regency Ward. I continued in this capacity until 1992, with a single year away during 1987/88. So much time has passed that no current serving councillors were in post then. Although I haven’t served as an elected member for over three decades, I’ve stayed actively engaged in electoral affairs at both local and national levels, though not with the day-to-day political work that occupies contemporary councillors.

Those brief years as an elected official represented not merely a considerable honour but also one of the most instructive experiences of my existence, particularly my time chairing the Licensing Committee. In that role, I managed the fiercely competitive taxi and private hire industries.

I’ve frequently been asked whether I’d ever seek elected office again. My response is an unequivocal no. Until 2023, I held a position I truly valued, which constantly stimulated me and proved far more intellectually engaging than party political engagement.

I’ve now stepped away and am delighting in a substantially quieter life after labouring seven days each week for almost four decades. Moreover, I genuinely doubt whether any political organisation would welcome someone as unmanageable as myself. I haven’t belonged to any political party since 1993. My unwillingness to adhere to party orthodoxy ultimately led to my removal from the council’s Labour Group. If anything, I believe I’ve become a more formidable critic than during my earlier period as a councillor. I also ponder whether voters would genuinely elect me again.

Two additional reasons explain my reluctance to resume council duties. The first concerns operational blurring. Councillors have transformed into administrators, intervening in day-to-day matters more suitably handled by employed professionals. Elected members should establish strategic direction, oversee officers, and shape policy. Serving as a representative has become a role requiring constant vigilance. It’s rather unfair that members, particularly those in leadership positions, work relentlessly while receiving modest remuneration compared to chief and senior council officers. Should we require full-time, professional members, we should have considerably fewer of them, though they deserve substantially higher pay.

The second explanation stems from the ingratitude inherent in council duties. One faces unrelenting criticism, with ill-informed members of the public challenging one’s intentions and honesty. I hold those who volunteer themselves for civic service in high regard. The members I’ve encountered over the years (with rare exceptions) have possessed strong principles, seeking simply to enhance their neighbourhoods. The role has become more challenging than during my tenure, with unprecedented financial cuts and dreadful online abuse. In my day, one might occasionally appear in the Argus’s letters section.

In two weeks, residents across large portions of Sussex will have the opportunity to elect their local representatives. (No elections are scheduled in Brighton and Hove.) Those who abstain from voting forfeit their right to complain. Should no candidate meet your standards, you can always spoil your ballot, perhaps by writing ‘none of the above.’ At minimum, you’ll have participated and made your voice heard. I prize the tradition of walking to the polling station to mark my paper, a right secured through considerable sacrifice by previous generations.