Blog: 5th April 2024 - Rachel McKoy, LLG President

When I was appointed LLG President, I wanted to bring something of myself to the role and make a difference. So, I decided on five themes close to my heart to fulfil during my presidential year, which aligned nicely with the LLG strategic plan:

1. front and centre - to ensure LLG was visible and present in the room for all the important conversations - whether it be media, speaking engagements or lobbying.

2. embracing our family: nurturing the community through collaboration, networking, social events, with a focus on growth and wellbeing

3. future first: succession planning and the attraction of junior talent. For those more established in their roles - to look at career pathways, leadership, and mentoring.

4. sharing the joy: champion the sector, celebrate successes, and share stories and best practice.

5. wide reach: building member engagement at regional and national level and working collaboratively with stakeholders across the sector.

So, you may be asking did LLG deliver? Well, a look back at 2023 presents a hive of activity within LLG around these topics, much of which I am particularly proud. We were certainly front and centre, speaking in the local government press and the national press on topics of importance such as …standards (or lack thereof), remote meeting provision, violence against councillors and officers, statutory protections, elections, ethical governance, the Golden Triangle and yes, if there was an innovative conversation around law in local government, we were in it. 

We widened our reach by collaborating with stakeholders on groundbreaking research and analysis - working with the LGIU and Browne Jacobson on The Changing Role of the Monitoring Officer; and Grant Thornton, SOLACE and CIPFA on Learning Lessons from Public Interest Reports. Both of these reports will drive policy and process change.

We have truly embraced our family with a growing program of highly topical events, with excellent feedback and a great buzz at the Spring & Governance conferences. With a relaunch of our regional program, we hope to extend that community feel to more local events. We all need to tell our stories and feel the support of our peers, and I’ve appreciated you sharing both your joy, your problems, and your successes.

Your support and engagement make LLG special - it is informed, innovative, and ambitious for the sector, and with your help we will continue to go from strength to strength in 2024. Let’s keep challenging our inner Danger Mouse!

Rachel McKoy

LLG President 2023-24