You might have noticed but we have just had an election. 

We have seen politics at its most adversarial as candidates have vied to secure your vote. 

Locally, on election night, all candidates acknowledged the positive spirit in which the elections had been conducted locally. 

But we live in a negative and cynical world and what the press love most of all is a good argument.

Quite simply, harmony is not newsworthy and co-operation between politicians is rarely commented on in the press. Members of the public are often heard to say, “Oh, if only party politics was taken out of it and our representatives worked together for the sake of the community.”

Well, hold the front page, I have news for you. Shock, horror, politicians do work together for the benefit of the electorate. 

During my time in Westminster I found it frustrating that good co-operative work in Bill committees, such as on adoption, did not gain any press interest unless an argument emerged.

Quiet advocacy, working with like-minded MPs from all parties, enabled positive legislative change. 

Again, at a local level, it is the disagreements that make the news. Regular readers might recall that, for some years now the Liberal Democrats on Test Valley Borough Council have been putting forward candidates for the chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSCOM) yet the position has always been awarded to one of the loyal members of the ruling group. It’s a bit like marking your own homework.

So, what is OSCOM for and what is its purpose? Test Valley Borough Council’s website describes it thus: “The main functions of this committee include: developing and reviewing policy. holding the Cabinet to account in public for the discharge of the functions for which it is responsible.”

Over the years there hasn’t been much holding to account and the Lib Dems have regularly put forward names of potential chairs. Such suggestions have always been robustly rebutted, even though many other councils routinely have an opposition member as chair of OSCOM. 
Until this year. 

I am pleased to say that Phil North, in his time as leader of the council, has steadily sought opportunities for joint working and has now decided to allow an opposition member to chair OSCOM. 

I am delighted about this because it will result in more collaborative working. The committee itself still has a Conservative majority so an opposition chair will have to work in a collegiate manner. It gives a green light to fresh thinking and this can only be in the best interests of the public. 

Of course, there will often be party differences and the press will always want to highlight a “good argument”. We have yet to see whether the political allegiance of the chair makes a difference. I think it will and wish Cllr Daas all the best in his new role, and thank Cllr North for his willingness to try something different. 

Sandra Gidley,
Test Valley borough councillor,

Romsey Abbey ward