Elected Representatives in Local Government

r nHERE are over so,ooo councillors and aldermen involved in the local government of England and Wales. They spend , annually upwards of £Isoom. of public money and are collectively a larger employer than the central government. Yet very little is known about who these people are. In recent years it is true they have become the subject of some discussion, most of it, and I shall return to this point later, concerned with largely unsubstantiated allegations that there has been a decline in their quality. It is also true that there have been a few studies made in recent years of the social composition of councils in particular localities such as Greater London, the West Midlands and West South Wales, and some attention has been paid to the social background of councillors in the studies of certain towns notably Glossop and Banbury. But so far nothing has been attempted for the country as a whole. The aim of this paper is to go some way towards filling this gap by examining the social class composition of councils using the occupational description of candidates derived from the ofEcial Notice of Poll. Since this information is given by the candidate himself, and he is under no obligation to be very precise, it is not as accurate as one would like. Nevertheless it does provide a basis for sketching an approximate general picture of the social character of local councils. It was impossible, of course, to examine all the I,500 or so local councils in England and Wales, nor was it feasible to tackle all six types of council. The study was therefore confined to a sample of the top-tier authorities, that is to say, the county councils and county borough councils. A twenty per cent sample was made of each category, which gave two groups; one of I3 county councils and the other of I7 county borough councils. The size of the sample was determined by the need to mirror the population and political complexion range of each category and at the same time ensure that as wide a geographical spread as possible was obtained. When selecting the county councils some attempt was also made to reflect the range in the degree of urbanization found among the English and Welsh counties.