Story of a disabled Ex/Town Councillor

Alex6471

Hello everyone , I thought I would find it might help me to write down what has happened to me in the last few months, I am still quiet shook up and upset as I really enjoyed my job as a town councillor , especially being a disabled Jewish woman , I really thought I would be able to give a lot of my knowledge with disability and of a minority community to our community.

Anyway let me introduce myself :

I am Alex 53, have multiple disabilities but my mobility failing to having to rely on a wheelchair for all trips outside my house have really not made things any better, I had to resign from my post as town councillor as our chamber is upstairs in a grade2 listed building, no accessible toilets, which I put up with from may 21 whilst slowly getting worse but still using the old decrepit stair lift and pain killers to attend meetings till in September 24 I started getting much worse, having falls and lots of pain and had to start using my chair permanent, upon asking to change the venue of the meetings so that I could partake I was told no! I pointed out that an audit needs to be done to check for accessibility, fire risk, health and safety which the clerk kept putting of. Not feeling mentally in s great place I saw no other way but yo resign after nearly my whole 4 years, it shattered me as I loved being a councillor it gavd me purpose.
Since then local papers have been in touch, I did not paint the council in a bad light, I got a huge horrible backlash ftom one of the councillors husband publicly under the paper article, accusing me of never having done anything for accessibility in my years there which is a lie. One person states its my fault for leaving because I did not get my way of a change of venue and now I was carping on from the sidelines. They now have had an audit done I put in for an Freedom of information request to see what they failed on, I got refused by the clerk mentioning some section 22 and that I am denied to see the reports.
The next meeting after my resignation they held in the scessible building I had enquired about and asked them to use before my resignation, the last 2 meetings I attended the CLLR who's husband was so rude in the paper to me, also spoke appallingly to me when I asked why did they wait till I resigned to change the venue, I got told my health had nothing to do with the council 💁🏻‍♀️
I will put the article from the paper here as well, if you look in the comments you can see how lovely I am being g treated there
Thank you for reading

https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/24730764.wilton-town-councillor-resigns-due-lack-accessibility/?ref=suit#eu3y7bxft7

Alex B

JF7891

You are the definition of HERO. People of this forum, please vote in the comments section of the linked article, and show your support. She is your voice, she is your champion, she is your protector and hero!

You don't need to register at all to vote, just click the upvote button, that's all!

And if you want to support further, copy her post here verbatim, and share it on your social media, takes 2 seconds!

Let's make hers and our voices ROAAAAAAARRRRRRR !

Love

Joe

charlie79

Well I can't help you, but I can say what a strong woman you are.😁

colejames

Hi Alex,

I do know how you feel, I have been in a similar situation as you. I resigned as a town councillor for mental health reasons and some toxic councillors/staff. I do have to salute your bravery though because you obviously gave your all to represent people in your community and I can't imagine the amount of pain you endured just to do so.

Unfortunately politics does attract people with large egos who stand for the position as well as people, like yourself, who want to make things better for the community that they live in. Don't give up though. I don't know if you would want to go back but remember that you can. If you do then look for issues which the council isn't recognising in your community, especially something which your life experiences equip you to speak with knowledge and from the heart. You already have the press contact and support within the community and hopefully from some of your fellow councillors. You can campaign to deal with the issue but you will also stay in the public eye. You can either stand at the next election or If then another councillor drops out, a by-election or co-option.

I didn't think after my resignation that I would go back. I resigned at the third AGM of my term and called out the councillors and member of staff who were making life a hell for councillors who didn't do what they wanted. It was not something that I could have done as a councillor and remained but by going publicly (during a live meeting being broadcast via YouTube) it put a light on them. It also led other councillors, who had not been aware of what had been going on in background, to see for themselves what was happening. Their lost the respect that other councillors had for them and therefore their power in meetings and by the end of that year, they were only attending meetings to ensure that they maintained their seats on the council. More importantly they had lost the support of the electorate in their wards and therefore didn't stand for re-election.

2023 was a strange year electorally, in our part of the country there were only elections for town and parish councils in about six wards, across three or four councils. In my town only 14 of the 20 seats were filled and like most councils in the area, they had to advertise the seats for co-option. I was surprised when I was asked if I would be interested in being co-opted, even more flattering was that I was contacted by several councillors. I did put myself forward and was lucky to receive a yes to co-option from every councillor.

As they say a week in politics is a long time so don't give up. Even if you don't go back onto the council, I am sure you will find a way to represent your community and enrich it.

Alex6471

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/967913#Comment_967913

Hi ,

Thank you that sounds very encouraging, I have a few other voluntary jobs and I am determined to stand in may

colejames

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/968092#Comment_968092

Hi Alex, my pleasure and I wish you luck in your campaign. I hope you are re-elected and receive support from fellow councillors and staff if you are.

Holly_Scope

Hi @Alex6471 Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. 💛