While all eyes have recently been on Newham LBC, shortly to finally confirm its next chief executive as a private sector manager from the energy sector, neighbouring Waltham Forest LBC is set to become the next high-profile Olympic borough.
The north-east London council currently has an interim chief, Roger Taylor, ex-chief executive of Birmingham and Manchester, following the departure of Jacquie Dean, earlier this year. The process to find a full-time chief is under way.
And its leader, Clyde Loakes, is also precisely the kind of candidate the Councillors’ Commission wants to see more of in town hall corridors of power.
Cllr Loakes is aged 37, a vice chair of the Labour Group at the LGA, a whip for his group on London Councils, and about to become a father for the first time.
He is also the youngest leader in London, and one of the youngest in the country. On his council’s website, he says that ‘since my election, I’ve worked with senior officers and other councillors to steer the council’s recovery plan, initially, and now the council’s improvement plan.
‘We’ve made good progress with most of the targets being met to date, but we know there is much more to do.’
Cllr Loakes admits that Waltham Forest is ‘the forgotten borough’, and he wants to change that. The council is one of the Olympic boroughs, on the edge of Thames Gateway, and a three-star, ‘improving well’ authority, a far cry from its ‘poor’, ‘poor’, ‘weak’ scores in 2002-4, but now it needs to find a voice.
As he says: ‘We were so bad, we had a zero reputation. We were very complacent, happy to coast.
‘We’ve sorted out the services we need to be more strategic and innovative. Now we must build our strategic capacity, and be more outward-focused.’
In the bad old days, not only were social services in special measures, but the education service had to be out-sourced. Much of the core LEA function is now returning in-house, leaving just the trade and services side of schools externalised.
The council is also considering an innovative solution to weaknesses in its street-cleansing service by setting up a joint venture with Norfolk CC as a wholly-owned public company which will then bid for the contract, due to start next year.
A particular task is preparing for the LAA, although Cllr Loakes is concerned the LAA agenda could mean more interference.
‘Almost certainly there’ll be targets,’ he says. ‘The danger is the Civil Service won’t let go, especially from those departments other than the CLG.’
Social inclusion is also a key target. The council employs some 17,500 staff in a borough of high diversity and, as he explains, ‘fundamentally, the Olympics is about getting people into jobs. I want a lasting legacy from it.’
Cllr Loakes has strong views about the difficulties of attracting people to local politics and has made a submission to the Councillors Commission. As he says: ‘We need to ensure that employers fully understand the potential for leadership experience from being on a council. It’s often in their interests.
‘Yet, if I was in the Territorial Army, I could be off forever, but not if I want to help the local community as a councillor.’
Cllr Loakes’ occupation is a civil servant, working on pensions policy at the Department for Works and Pensions. He went part-time when he was elected leader, and then took an unpaid sabbatical for 12 months. His total allowances come to £50,000 while his cabinet colleagues are on £30,000. But, despite the calls on time and his career, he emphasises: ‘As leader, I have a lot more influence than, say, a backbench MP.’
He moved to London 15 years ago from Northamptonshire, became involved in local politics, was then elected as a councillor nine years ago, and became leader four years ago when the-then leader was suspended.
Since 2002, the council has been run by a joint Labour/Lib Dem coalition. He now heads a cabinet of six Labour and four Liberal Democrats, with a Lib Dem deputy leader.
Cllr Loakes pledges on his website: ‘I want Waltham Forest to become a place which people think of as somewhere great to live, work and play. The council has a large role to play in increasing people’s quality of life, from making sure the streets are clean, to educating our children and caring for the vulnerable in our communities. I will strive to ensure we continuously improve our performance in all aspects of our work.
As he adds to The MJ: ‘You’d be hard-pushed to find a council that has made such progress.’ n
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