Confessions of a paper candidate

I had joined the Liberal Democrats in 2017 to support the only major political party that had fought against the act of national self-harm that was Brexit. It was the very least I could do, so I thought, to pay a monthly subscription to the party. As it happens, and totally unknown to each other, my wife had also joined for the same reason.

It didn't take long to receive a welcome phone call from the local party in Lichfield and be invited to their monthly meeting in the pub. We thought it would be good to go along and meet other members; and so it was. From there we got more involved - attending the AGM, delivering leaflets, etc - but then in 2018 I was asked the question "would you be willing to stand as a 'paper candidate' in the local elections in 2019?".

"What's a paper candidate?" I asked naively. "Oh, we just want some people to stand so that their name will be on the ballot paper. Then people who might like to vote for us have the opportunity to do so. We are not expecting you to get elected."

After giving it some thought for a few days I agreed to stand and was sent the forms to fill in so that I could be vetted by the party hierarchy. (I passed!) Then nothing happened for some months. Early in 2019 I was reminded of my offer and was told that I would be one of the candidates for Stowe ward in the May elections.

After the candidates had been announced I started to get friends and other people who knew me saying such things as "Great to hear you're standing for the Council. I'll be voting for you." After getting enough of these comments I gradually got to feeling that I might actually get elected. This was not what I had planned but, if these people had enough confidence to vote for me, I couldn't let them down.

The election came and I attended the count in Burntwood Leisure Centre and, would you believe it, I was now a councillor on Lichfield City Council! The rest, as they say, is history. I got involved with the workings of the Council and its committees (ending up as deputy chair of one) and even took over as Lib Dem group leader on the Council. I have helped residents deal with all sorts of issues from potholes to parking fines to police matters and many others besides.

And has the experience made me regret my offer to be a "paper candidate"? Not at all. Otherwise I wouldn't now be standing for re-election to the City Council and election to the District Council. So, to all the paper candidates in this year's elections, for whichever party you are standing, I would say "Be prepared; you never know what might happen! It could be an opportunity to help the people of our community."