James Lewis - Leeds City Councillor

I’ve been a councillor for 6 years now, first being elected when I was 25 and becoming the youngest member of the council at the time. Like following my football team Leeds United, there has been ups and downs and no-one should think of becoming a councillor if they want a quiet or easy life!

I live in Kippax, the largest village in my ward, so I meet plenty of residents on a day-to-day basis and not just in formal meetings. Sometime I can pick up more casework in the barbers than I do in an advice session.  

My ward is fairly rural and is made up of 7 villages and it’s good to represent an area where local people have a strong sense of community. The area has a strong sporting tradition and backing our sports clubs is a big priority, especially the volunteers that run junior teams. Hopefully new pitches for junior football and rugby league will be opening soon – a big project I’ve been involved in. I also work closely with groups of volunteers who put in their time to improve the local environment.

My two ward colleagues and I work together to provide monthly surgeries and we regularly hold ‘street surgeries’ and join resident’s association meetings. Having great colleagues who it’s easy to work with representing the same ward is a real bonus, especially when I was newly elected.

Being a councillor can sometimes seem relentless work but it is also rewarding, be it a thank you from a resident you’ve helped or seeing a major project get off the ground.