It sounds like any one of the mind-rotting reality television shows that currently bombard our screens. It could be Big Brother, [insert country] Idol, or one of the shows that follow the tribulations of the obese while they fight cattily with one another and try to lose 500 kilos in three weeks.

But it’s not. Today John introduced us to a fly-on-the-wall doco that followed local councillors in the lead up to a mayoral election. It ticked all the boxes that seem a must-have for reality shows; constant fights, deceit, flying insults and people who could be described as less than efficient at communicating.

It confirmed again that local councils may go on about working for the people and other equally spun phrases about hard work and goodness but in reality they spend a huge chunk of their time discussing the irrelevant.

Evidently that’s not all the time though – last week I went to BCC’s Homeless Connect event and witnessed what can happen when councillors spend more time doing and less time back-stabbing and soliloquising. 

Clare