Parish council work in Holbeach gave Coun Paul Foyster the desire to go further and secure a place on the district council.
And he achieved that in May this year, one of two members to be elected to represent UKIP on the local authority for the first time.
“I like being in local government because you get the opportunity to help people. They come to you with all sorts of problems and sometimes you have to try and put them right yourself,” he said. “There are such a lot of services which affect everyone – not just the bins but planning, licensing and suchlike.”
For Coun Foyster, the necessity and chance to challenge is a key factor, particularly with a dominant Conservative administration (the group holds 28 of the 37 seats).
He said: “It gives you the opportunity to influence things and question things. If they have a big majority you have the opportunity to at least question it – because we are all paying for it. Members of the majority group sometimes have a tendency not to rock the boat. If you are in opposition, it makes it easier.”
Local Democracy Week runs from today (Monday, October 12) until Sunday.
