At a time when we are being bombarded with reports of questionable behaviour from some MPs at Westminster (and in the British Virgin Isles) it was truly refreshing to learn more about the hard working – and unpaid – people who represent us at all levels of local government.

Councillor Martin Wrigley took time from his very full schedule to speak to members of Dawlish & District u3a about the many challenges facing local government and the work of a councillor.

He began his wide-ranging talk by explaining how some councillors receive a very modest allowance for the considerable time they spend on council business.

In his case, he chose to give up a senior role in the IT industry when he could see that poor decisions were being made at a local level.

He felt that he could bring his knowledge and experience to his community and help make a difference by seeking election as a councillor.

Local Government is a very complex area which few people fully understand – including Cllr Wrigley as he was happy to admit!

The three tiers in Devon of parish (Dawlish Town Council), district (Teignbridge) and county (Devon County Council) each have different responsibilities. Martin is active at all three levels and has gained enormous knowledge over many years.

His audience learned a great deal from his experiences in navigating the system in many areas.

When dealing with housing and planning, he is particularly frustrated by the limited powers available to local authorities to require developers to include broadband, green heating and other infrastructure in new developments. He is pleased that Teignbridge is now building council houses after many years when this was not possible.

He is especially satisfied by the successes of the lengthy campaign to build a link road from the Sainsbury’s development up to the new housing at Gatehouse.

It was an object lesson in how difficult it can be to bring about change. Nonetheless, persistence and community pressure does bring results.

While he and his fellow councillors feel they are making a difference, there are enormous challenges ahead, not least financial. Councils are not able to borrow money, and there are clear limits on how much they can increase council tax to fund the many things we all need.

The discussion could have gone on for much longer, and huge areas of council responsibility were left untouched, but Cllr Wrigley had to leave the u3a meeting to rush to more council business, this time on Zoom.

Members were left impressed, and daunted, by the work Martin and hundreds of fellow councillors of all political persuasions do throughout the year, with the aim of making life better for all of us.

Dawlish & District u3a has over 160 members who meet monthly to listen to speakers on a diverse range of subjects, and to enjoy each other’s company.

In addition, about 20 interest groups meet throughout the month to pursue subjects as varied as Great Lives, French Conversation, Natural History, Wine Appreciation, Scrabble, Art Appreciation, and Gardens & Gateaux. To find out more, visit www.u3a.dawlish.info