Tower Hamlets: Driving diversity in local politics through the Be a Councillor campaign

The project was a success with excellent feedback from in-person sessions including, for example, a 20 per cent rise in those likely to become potential candidates seen at the women’s event. 

Although the project targeted a specific borough, the methods used could be a blueprint for other local authorities.

Following a corporate-peer-challenge review in 2023, the LGA recommended that Tower Hamlets Council “actively promote the LGA’s ‘Be a Councillor Campaign’ to promote the opportunity for women and people from underrepresented groups across the borough.” 

This began in February 2024, and included a number of engagement events throughout the year. 

Additionally, the project supported the Council’s ambition to secure the LGA Member Development Charter Mark.

The council adopted a three-pronged approach to deliver the project: 

• Communications and marketing: The council developed a comprehensive public campaign utilising multiple channels including social media, banners, newsletters, and the East End magazine.
• Community engagement: The project team organised targeted events and conducted research to understand women’s barriers into local politics. This included an event for diverse residents and a targeted event for women. An anonymised survey was distributed and completed by almost 90 women.
• Members support review: The council conducted a review of available support for women councillors. While finding the existing support comprehensive, they identified the need to improve awareness of these resources and subsequently enhanced their communication about available support.

The campaign achieved significant results: 

• Increase in Awareness – The Tower Hamlets Be a Councillor webpage attracted 1,303 unique visitors and 1,934 total page views over the first few months.
• Two in-person events (held at weekends) reached a combined 47 participants (excluding speakers, councillors, and staff) with excellent engagement from those in attendance.
• The women's event resulted in a 23 per cent increase in understanding of the councillor role
• There was a 20 per cent increase in women expressing more of an interest in standing for local election.
• The council established valuable partnerships with organisations including the LGA, Elect Her, and 50:50 Parliament
• Created a sustainable framework that can be replicated as part of business-as-usual activities.

Key insights from the project include: 

• Stakeholder management: Early engagement with stakeholders proved crucial, particularly in addressing political sensitivities. The project team had to develop stakeholder management to secure buy-in from key parties.
• External partnerships: Building strong relationships with the LGA advisor and councillors from other local authorities proved invaluable. These connections provided guidance, support, and access to good practice examples from across the country and ensured we had interesting and experienced speakers at our events.
• Adaptability: The project team demonstrated resilience in adapting to multiple pre-election periods that disrupted the original timeline. They successfully adjusted their approach while maintaining focus on core objectives.
• Sustainability: The creation of detailed event planning guides and toolkits ensures the initiative's longevity beyond the project lifecycle. This documentation supports the transition to business-as-usual operations.
• Timing: It will be important to consider the election timeline when planning future events.
• Local authority responsibilities: Consider the limits to a local authority’s powers and responsibilities. For example, the council cannot tell political parties who they should put forward as councillors and of course, who the electorate decides to vote for is entirely their free choice. The council can however help raise awareness of what being a councillor involves, it can give information to help remove any potential barriers for would-be candidates and it can advise on the routes available to become a councillor, namely either by engaging with a political party or by standing as an independent.