It’s a strange but uplifting experience being a town’s mayor. Well, that’s been my experience anyway as the Mayor of Towcester. The strange part is seeing so much of what’s positive in my town and across Northamptonshire. I exaggerate of course but we are though constantly bombarded with news that’s bleak. It’s so uplifting and refreshing therefore to see the reality of what’s so positive and good in our community.

Some of that good news is seeing the work of the voluntary sector and of their volunteers. Charities and voluntary groups play such a critical role, particularly in providing services to the vulnerable. And who are the vulnerable? When I worked for an organisation that provided emergency accommodation for the homeless, people would ask me what sort of people became homeless. My reply was and is, ‘people like you and me’. It doesn’t take much in life to plunge us into personal difficulty, to become vulnerable. Whether it’s our health, financial position, family or personal relationships. When things go wrong, it’s often voluntary organisations that can make the difference to our lives.

Most politicians in my experience, do recognise the contribution voluntary organisations make. Unfortunately, far too many politicians view voluntary organisations as a cheap or cheaper alternative to public services. It never fails to amaze me that some local politicians continue to believe that if an organisation is voluntary, then it follows that it doesn’t need any public money to support its work. With the voluntary and community sector playing an increasing role, funding from local government is required more than ever.

In his influential book The Gift Relationship, Richard Titmuss described the blood donor service as an example of the value of altruism in social and health policy and practice. Volunteers in our community have this gift relationship with others. Giving themselves to the service of others. It’s my hope that our county, borough and district councils will fully recognise the value of the voluntary sector as they now start to plan their budgets for next year. With council tax being frozen and grants to councils being cut, it will be vital for councillors to keep faith with voluntary organisations. Some voluntary organisations need public money to enable them to use volunteers. Without such core funding the gift relationship that many volunteers offer will be lost to us all.