Thursday 24th March 2011

Cllr Graeme Baxter MBE has been a passionate voice in North East Derbyshire for over 20 years. Now Leader, he remains true to the principles he carried when he began.

Elected Member for Dronfield North, his ethos is simple, "Be a part of, and shape, your local community, remember that you have to walk down the street and face the people you represent."

He’s a 'deedah' (Sheffielder) by birth but proud of his adopted town.

In fact, it is that which shaped his political career.

After moving to Dronfield, he popped into the local Labour club and got talked into joining. The rest, as they say, is history.

Soon persuaded to be a Councillor "Oh, by the way, we've made you Vice Chair of Recreation and Leisure. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Chair was ill and I ended up chairing it."

His pride in what they've done is evident, "I was heavily involved in the introduction of wheelie bins and we've renovated Dronfield Sports Centre. I would have liked to have had a new build, but financially we had to go with a revamp. It was brilliant when it finally opened after 7 years.

"The Smiths was another proud moment with substandard housing wiped out and residents able to move out, and then move back in to better quality accommodation.

"It's a great life and honour to do this, but it takes a lot of time. My sons joke that I am the worst person to buy for. When I retired from my day job they bought me walking shoes but fate had other ideas and I became Leader. I haven't had much use for the shoes! It's important to remember that everytime I go to the shops, for a drink, or walk down the street the people I represent are there - l live in the area."

Graeme is characteristically humble about receiving his 'Council Leader of the Year Award' and insists it wasn't just his accolade, "It's a great team here, we've worked hard on it - that was one thing we had to do, get away from the 'us and them' thing and build a team. Our CEO is about to retire after 36 years, he's never not wanted to come to work. That says it all. My award was for the council."

Many people are standing for council for the first time this May and it's something Graeme recommends, "Go for it, but be prepared to have a bit of humility, don't come in all guns blazing, be prepared to sit down and listen. We are closer to the people than anyone, people who vote for you are your shareholders - it's you they stop when you go to the shops. Give time and the rewards are fantastic. Be a part and shape your neighbourhood."

The joint tendering with Bolsover is a new and viable link for Graeme. He says, "It works, it will save cash to put back into services. By sharing resources for dry recycling for example, we've saved £345,000 a year - that's cash to go back into frontline services."

He's hopeful that voters will vote locally in May and adds, "I can't affect what's happening out there, but I can have a say in what's happening in NE Derbyshire and affecting them locally."

Finally, we asked Graeme if he had any regrets. He joked as he said, "Only that I used to have hair!"

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