The practice of supreme power and how it doesn’t apply on a good Parish Council

So, I’m four months or so into my reign of terror term as Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council. No-one has died yet, the Council is still at full strength, and our Clerk is still talking to me. So far, so good.

In those four months, we’ve seen the introduction of a 20 mph speed limit, the erection of a new noticeboard and the installation of a defibrillator. I take no particular credit for any of this, as what we do is entirely a team effort, with decisions made by consensus, trust placed in our Clerk, and a willingness amongst councillors to roll up their sleeves and do things as required.

Meetings have been briskly efficient, and whilst I’m not a dictatorial Chair, I don’t like to allow meetings to drift - people have homes to go to, and families to enjoy, after all - so I tend to move the business along.

The July meeting lasted fifty minutes, including an impromptu site visit to the location of a planning application. I take the view that a look at the physical space is more useful than poring over diagrams, and we were able to reach an agreed position quickly and efficiently, with the assistance of our esteemed District Councillor, whose expertise in planning issues is greatly appreciated.

This month’s meeting ran to just forty-six minutes, although I could probably have trimmed that to half an hour had I really wanted to. However, Council meetings are pleasantly chilled, with no sense of internal dissent or ill feeling, and a little bit of “anecdotage” puts people at their ease.

In short, it all seems to be working, I’m enjoying myself, and stuff is getting done. Perhaps I should be advising the Prime Minister...