We are featuring introductions to your Liberal Democrat councillors and candidates in Westhoughton. Next up is Deirdre McGeown, who was elected as a councillor in 2019 and has been serving as Westhoughton town mayor this year.

What inspired you to become a town councillor, and how long have you been serving in this role?

I moved to the Northwest 48 years ago with my late husband who was from Horwich, and I moved to Westhoughton 19 years ago. My children had all grown up and flown the nest and I found myself with time on my hands.

Westhoughton is a beautiful place to live but the traffic on the roads at rush hour was horrendous, and it constantly frustrated me when commuting. I have always felt a strong sense of justice and a desire to help people, which is what attracted me to my career in law. I admired what the Liberal Democrats were trying to do for the residents and area of Westhoughton and when I was approached by a Councillor whom I knew and asked to invest my time and become a Councillor I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to make a difference and to be a voice for the unheard people of the town I love. I became a candidate and was delighted when I was elected at the local by-election in 2018. I then became a councillor for Westhoughton Parish Council at the election in 2019 and for Bolton Council in 2019, serving the community for the past 4 years.

Deirdre McGeown with town councillor Linda Maher putting up poppies in Daisy Hill village

What do you consider to be the most pressing issues facing Westhoughton today, and how are you working to address them?

When I became a councillor 5 years ago the biggest worry for the community of Westhoughton was the infrastructure; the roads are jammed most of the time, not just at rush hour, there are not enough GPs and the schools are ready to burst. Sadly, these issues endure, and I will continue to fight for improvements in school sites, for more GPs and for improvements on the roads. As a party we try to raise awareness of the number of damaged road surfaces not being maintained by Bolton Council and have successfully pressed for many to be repaired. This is a real issue not just because of the potential for damaging vehicles but also a tripping hazard for individuals crossing the roads.

The current state of Westhoughton Town Hall is a particular concern; it has been vacant for so long and now with the proposed changes to the interior I want to make a push for some community use. This is essential for the elderly who greatly benefit from access to community-based activities, which provide much needed social interaction.

What do you see as your biggest achievements as a town councillor so far, and why are they important to you?

Becoming Mayor of Westhoughton has been an honour for me. I have had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people who are so committed to helping the community in any way they are able; I find it awe inspiring. This has been important as the role has had the advantage of making me more visible to residents of Westhoughton who have since been more willing to contact me for assistance or guidance. This is the reason that I became a councillor, to help and make a difference for individual constituents.

Town mayor Deirdre McGeown and deputy town mayor Ollie Younge

I have been proud to serve on the Children’s Scrutiny, Adults and Wellbeing Committee during my time in office. Whilst my own children were at primary school, I volunteered for a period of time to assist in classrooms and later volunteered in the same way at a school where my daughter-in-law was teaching. I was able to support the teachers and able to help the children by listening to the children read, which in turn freed up the teachers to deal with the many other demands of their roles. It was a wonderful experience for me, the children were just so enthusiastic.. By serving on the committee, I have worked to bring about positive change in children’s lives / these areas.

How do you engage with and represent the diverse range of interests and concerns in your community, and what steps do you take to ensure that everyone's voices are heard?

I am from a military family and was lucky enough to travel the world as a child, meeting many amazing people, encountering diverse communities, and experiencing different religions and ways of life. I learnt, at a very young age, how important everyone is to society; everyone has a contribution to make, and it is vitally important to actually listen to people, to approach everything with an open mind, and never to judge or impose your own views. I try to reach out to everyone I can within our community by attending many diverse events from coffee mornings to demonstration walks, and I did hold regular surgeries when the Town Hall was open for anyone can come and talk to me about any issues that are important to them.

How do you work with other councillors, as well as with the local authorities and community organisations, to achieve your goals for Westhoughton?

I thrive off working with other councillors because we all drive one another to achieve more for the people of our constituencies. There are of course different political parties in Westhoughton and whilst the parties we represent all have different political agendas I see it that we are all working together because we all have a common goal of serving the community we love. It can at times be challenging but it is always worth the effort. I have built up contacts within the local authority and networks with community organisations which allow me to access the people and resources I need to in order to fulfil my role.

How do you balance the competing demands of your role as a town councillor with your other commitments and responsibilities?

My father always used to say that ‘If you want something doing, you ask a busy person’. I never really understood the statement at the time, but a busy person will always find a way to achieve a goal that is important to them, and working for the community as well as my own personal responsibilities are really important to me. They are what make me get up (often very early!) in the morning. It requires careful organisation, but I have always been an organised person, and bringing up three children with a husband who worked away helped with that. It is important to me to fight for people who cannot fight for themselves and my determination that I will not let them down drives me to find a way.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in becoming a town councillor, and what qualities do you think are essential for success in this role?

If you want to make a difference, then you are definitely the right person to become a councillor. Your aim must be to help, and you must be prepared to dedicate a lot of your free time. I feel it is essential to be community minded, to be able to empathise with people without judging them. It can be hard work and you will need to make yourself available at all times, but the work is very rewarding. You are potentially making a person’s life a little bit easier, making a difference for them. The rewards of this for me are endless.

How do you plan to continue serving Westhoughton in the future, and what are your goals for the community over the next few years?

It is my aim to bring about more positive changes for the community and to continue to campaign for causes that are important for residents including opposing impractical housing developments that the infrastructure is not ready to sustain.

Children’s education is extremely important to me; it is their future and they are ours. Unfortunately, at present in Westhoughton with more and more houses being built with little investment in the infrastructure such as more schools/school places, their education is under threat.

I will continue to be serve and make myself available to the residents of Westhoughton, whether it’s for guidance with helping a child getting a place in their ideal choice of school, for assisting a resident struggling to fill in a form or by improving and cleaning up the local areas. When I finally retire, I plan to volunteer with local charities and to dedicate more time continuing with my work to help people who are in need.

An introduction with Councillor Deirdre McGeown