Archive for October, 2009

How long have you been doing this job and briefly what it involves?
I’ve been a councillor for 11½ years and Leader of the Council for 3½ – ever since I led Labour to a landslide victory over an unsuccessful Tory-Lib Dem coalition that had run the council rather badly for four years.  As Leader I’m involved in all the key decisions the council takes about our area and council-run services.  I’m also Chair of Lambeth First, which covers the council, the police, the health service, businesses, the voluntary sector and other public sector organisations in Lambeth.  And I’m the lead member for housing for London Councils, which means I have a key role in housing policy right across London.

What motivates you to do the role you are?
I want to make change happen and make a positive difference for our area.  The council used to be a by-word for failure and incompetence.  That meant misery for people who pay council tax or rely on council services.  But now things have changed – many of our services are among the best in London, including housing benefits, education, planning, community safety, youth services.  Our council tax used to be one of the highest in London, now it’s one of the lowest – we’ve just frozen it for two years.  All of this has changed in the past few years, and we are working to change other areas like housing that need to improve faster.

What job did you do before coming to Lambeth?
I was a publishing manager for a major global information company, publishing books, magazines
and online information about business, management, finance and education.

What do you most like about living/working in London?
The best things about London are its diversity and the huge range of things there are to do here – restaurants, theatres, music, parks.  We’re a global city and that means we can sample the best the world has to offer right here on our doorsteps.

How do you think Lambeth has changed and you think your role has had an impact on this?
I think Lambeth’s council is delivering better services in most areas, and people have become more confident about Lambeth as a place.  You don’t have to take my word about the services improving – we’ve had inspection after inspection that have put Lambeth among the top performing councils for the first time in our history.  As Leader of the Council, I have a key role in making sure our team keep focused on the things that will really make a difference, and also in making sure we listen to residents and service users about the changes they want to see.

If you had the power to change the law, what new law would you bring in?
Actually I think we have too many laws, not too few!  But if I had to make a change in the law I would like to see more power given to local communities to take decisions about the things that affect them like crime, housing, education, transport, job training or the environment, and less direction from central Government which can sometimes be remote from what’s happening on the ground.

What is your vision for the future of Lambeth?
My goal is for Lambeth Council to be one of the best performing councils in London, offering high quality services that are good value for money, and flexible enough to meet the needs of our different communities.  That really is within our reach now!   And for our area, I’d like to see more opportunity for everyone regardless of their background to make the most of their life with a good education, a good job, decent housing, and a clean environment to live in.

What role do you think residents have in shaping Lambeth?
Residents have the most key role of all.  They elect the people who will take decisions on their behalf.  When they elected the Tories and Lib Dems in 2002 they got a 40% council tax hike and cuts in services.  In 2006 they voted Labour and we’ve frozen council tax for two years and are investing in new services paid for by cutting out the waste the Lib Dems and Tories left behind.  Apart from voting, I want to see more residents involved in taking decisions about their local area through local forums, community panels and service user groups.

What is your most memorable moment in your role?
Actually, despite all the big decisions that involve millions of pounds, it’s the smaller, personal things that you really remember.  I was once able to help a care leaver who’d been left to live in a cold, damp flat find a better place to live.  That helped him find the stability he needed to get a job with good prospects and good training and start to make more of his life.  He came back to see me about a year after I’d met him to show me some pictures of how his life had changed.  That really touched me – it showed you can make a difference for people, and they do care.

Who would you most like to meet?
Because my job’s quite high profile I’ve been lucky enough to meet some very interesting people, including Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey and the Queen!  I’d really love to meet Nelson Mandela – I was in the crowd years ago when he visited Brixton but I think it would be a real privilege to shake the great man’s hand.

What do you most like to see in a community?
People who know each other and look out for each other, and who get on and make a difference for their area.  We have plenty of communities in Lambeth like that or striving to achieve that.

What is your favorite area in Lambeth?
I love walking along the South Bank – that’s not just one of my favourite places in Lambeth, it’s one of my favourite places in the world!

If you had to sell Lambeth to the world, what three words would you use to describe it?
Diverse, vibrant, ambitious.

If you could change one thing about this country what would it be?
The weather!  I’d rather have more sunshine in the summer, more snow the winter and fewer grey drizzly days.

Do you travel, if so where was your last holiday destination?
I had my first two-week holiday for four years this summer.  I went to Italy and I absolutely loved it.

What aspect of your job would you most like to Change?
My job’s so busy it’s impossible to do everything people ask me to – I’d have to be at three separate events all the time.  I’d love to be able to say yes to more invitations from local groups and spend more time answering letters and emails personally.

How do you most like to relax after a hard day at the office?
My working day is usually very long – often over 12 hours, and I usually work weekends too.  So when I get free time I like to catch up with friends over food or a beer, and I love the theatre.

Who is the most influential person you have ever met and why?
It must be Bill Clinton, who I met at a Labour Party conference in Manchester a few years ago.  As US President he was the most powerful man in the world for 8 years, and he had more personal charisma than anyone else I’ve ever met.

What would you most like to achieve in the next 10 years?
I’d love the chance to continue leading Lambeth on its journey of improvement until we’re recognised as one of the best councils in London delivering good services right across the board, and I’d like to feel settled and happy in my personal life too.  It’s hard to balance a very busy job with a good personal life because there’s not enough time for both.

Can residents contact you and how?
There are plenty of ways residents can contact me.   My email is sreed@lambeth.gov.uk, my website is www.stevereed.org.uk, my phone number at the town hall is 020 7926 1167, I do a public advice surgery as part of a rota with other Labour councillors at the town hall every Saturday morning from 10am,  and I’m out and about across the borough visiting different groups and areas every week!