With more than 40 years experience of local government Victor Lyon has seen great changes.

When he was first elected in 1959 the boroughs were a lot smaller and services were fragmented. Education and social services were administered by the London County Council.

This changed in 1964 when the new larger boroughs were created as unitary authorities responsible for all services.

It enabled services like housing and social services to be dovetailed together in a more satisfactory manner, he observed.

Mr Lyon said he had always found planning to be the hot issue. "I still get more planning matters in my Totteridge Ward than anything else and this was true even during the period when I was chairman of the social services committee."

He also noted that there had been a big change in the sort of people now coming forward to serve as councillors.

There are many more people who see it as a stepping stone to other things.

"When I started it was mainly people who wanted to put something back into the community in which they lived. It was a much less onerous activity.

"There were no allowances of any sort paid to councillors. Of course there are some out-of-pocket expenses that have to be paid and I agree this could have deterred some people from putting their names forward.

"Many companies were pleased to have a member of their staff serving as councillors. It was largely a matter of prestige. This has now gone.

"The public perception has changed and many people feel we are in it for what we can get out of it."

He noted that there were now proposals from the Association of London Government, following a report they had commissioned, to substantially increase the allowances to councillors, particularly the payment for special responsibility posts.

"If you have got a system that requires key people to be available at all times, it can jeopardise their careers, and it is right they should be compensated for that.

"The cabinet responsibilities are very wide with members having executive powers and legal responsibilities. There ought to be a reasonable return for this.

"My worry is that over-generous payments will attract people who are in it for the money. I feel the upper limits proposed for some of these payments are much too high."

Another big change was that councils were now much more political than they used to be.

"Yes, we had political differences, but at committee meetings most matters could be discussed on their merits.

"It is important that the council is seen as providing honest government and not just playing party politics. People want delivery of local services, not just hype. Officers must be allowed to do a professional job.

"We must aim to make the borough both welcoming and efficient. We hear a lot about equal opportunity, there must also be some emphasis on equal responsibility.

"The unfortunate ethos of winning at any cost seems to have crept into our national life."

Commenting on voting systems, Mr Lyon said it had to be simple and easily understood. Recently there had been a series of elections using varying flavours of proportional representation.

"People are confused, although it has been made easier to get the vote. Unfortunately this has also made fraud much easier. If people lose confidence in the electoral system, the number of voters will fall further.

"I regret that Barnet will not make spot checks on postal votes. There is nothing in the Local Government Act to prevent this. As leader of the council I shall initiate such checks."

Mr Lyon added that he had been brought up to believe it was a duty to vote. He would like a blank space left on ballot papers so that people could record their interest in local affairs even if they did not wish to support any of the candidates standing.

October 10, 2001 18:30