One in a million : that Bill Taylor

Our local councillors come from people close to their electorate: family, friends, neighbours, work mates, people down your street.

They might be down your street - but you don’t feel that they are up it! They spend multi billions of our money annually on schools, housing, social services, roads, waste management, sport and leisure, environmental and public health, planning amongst many other day-to-day matters vital to us all. But what do we really know about our elected representatives and how they work, what good they do, and what really happens behind the scenes?

One in a Million does just that, taking you into the office of Sir Bill Taylor. Sir Bill Taylor has almost fifty years of successful experience in public service as a full-time youth and community worker, manager and trainer professionally and as a Councillor, Committee chair, Executive Member, Mayor and deputy Mayor, Deputy Leader and Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council. He was constituency agent to Cabinet member Jack Straw for over thirty years. They transformed how Councils and constituency MPs communicated and engaged with communities.

Many things he introduced in communities, education, schools, colleges, finance and social mobility were visited by prominent national figures and widely replicated nationally as good practice. During these times his work has been described as “unique unparalleled elsewhere” and “in a league of their own”. What was his investiture at the palace like?

What is a royal garden party like? How do you install a new bishop? How do local political parties operate? What is a Constituency Agent? What’s canvassing at election time really about? How do mayors get appointed, and what do they do? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this fascinating inside look at a dedicated councillor's career.