‘Being a Councillor should be used to make a difference even if it is just a small one.’

Rainham and Wennington councillor Jackie McArdle today shares in the Havering Daily her thoughts on the past few months of being a newly elected councillor.

Becoming a local councillor was one of the proudest moments of my life. To think 1295 people put a cross by my name and their trust in me to represent them was quite overwhelming.

It was because of this trust that I decided to cut my work days down to one and concentrate on not letting nearly 1300 people down.

Sue, Sarah and I had always been heavily involved with local events, projects and fund raising but we soon realised that we had a lot to learn to become good councillors.

The Wennington fires were the worst disaster Havering had ever seen and the worse I had ever lived through.  Shell shocked faces of people left with just the clothes on their back will never leave me. All we could do was offer a hug and a kind word.  Very soon we were supported by H.R.A. Councillors from neighbouring wards and Cabinet Members who soon put into place a plan to assist those affected. Over the coming days and weeks they and Council Officers never left our sides and we all supported the Wennington Residents the best we could.

The residents and businesses of Rainham and Wennington pulled together as they always do and showed love and compassion in times of crisis, and somehow this tiny Village was supported and embraced and slowly will be rebuilt.

We made a lot of friends during this time and eventual team mates as this incident and the obvious commitment to resolving the historic Launders Lane issue proved to us where our loyalties should lie.

In 20 weeks The H.R.A. administration had done more than the previous administrations had done in 20 years. A resolution won’t happen overnight but the commitment to resolve it did. Monitors are in, data is being collected, soil samples will be taken and ways to stop the fires that have plagued our lives are being looked at. It was moral decision not a financial one to join The H.R.A. as their ethos is the same as ours.  Every ward in the south of the Borough is now part of the Administration which has never happened before and can only be a good thing for all concerned.

Becoming a Councillor is a great honour and should be treated as such, but it also opens your eyes to things that go on around you that you never noticed before, poverty, homelessness, inequality and injustices. Being a Councillor should be used to make a difference even if it is just a small one.

We should have a community food shop open in January at Rainham Library Community Hub on a Wednesday. Jan, head librarian will be trialling a coat swap and local School uniform donation point.  I am also hoping that with the help of the wonderful volunteers at The Ship and Reverend Elise Peterson, we will be opening a Community/Soup kitchen in The Ship in the evenings. 

Hopefully these new initiatives will be joined by others in the months to come as no one should have to choose between heating and eating. So with luck these projects will help to ease the burden on struggling families and the elderly. 

Things won’t change overnight, but we have made steps in the right direction and I know we will get all the support we need from our fellow H.R.A. Councillors to help us achieve the best for our ward.

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy and healthy New Year to all.