Nottingham City Labour councillor Sam Lux has just returned from maternity leave, having brought her daughter, Cleo, into the world last year.
She has been documenting her return on TikTok.
In just a few weeks, Cllr Lux, who is the council’s executive member for climate and energy, has racked up thousands of views.
One clip, titled ‘A day in the life of a Nottingham councillor leading on climate juggling a new baby’, has been watched more than 17,000 times.
Cllr Lux said: “The original inspiration is I went to an event with the Labour Party which was specifically about connecting with young people in politics, and someone made the point that young people are a lot more likely to know who is on their favourite dating show, all of the different contestants, but they are unlikely to know who represents them at the local level, maybe even national level.”
“It got me thinking it is my responsibility as an elected representative to get my messages through to everyone.
“I want young people to think about how they could engage in politics. Would it make sense for them to stand at some point in their lives? Often, when I go door-knocking, people say I’m young for a councillor, and my immediate reaction is we need people who represent every different demographic. That’s the whole point of government.
“Too often, people have the image of an old white man in a suit in their head as a councillor. I want to remove the myth that you have to be old and rich to get involved.”
According to the Local Government Association (LGA), local councillors have been reporting persistently high rates of abuse and intimidation.
Seven in 10 councillors have reported experiencing these issues in the last 12 months and feeling personally at risk while fulfilling their role, the LGA said last year.
It also says 84 per cent of female respondents to a survey said they feel at risk when fulfilling their role as a councillor, compared to 66 per cent of male councillors.
Cllr Lux said she has herself experienced “visceral hatred” but hopes to help humanise councillors by showing a more vulnerable side on social media.
“Politicians in general are often dehumanised,” she continued.
“People don’t think of them as normal and having their own emotions. It is almost like they are a human punching bag representing the institutions people hate.
“I hope by doing this, being a lot more candid, a lot less polished, talking about feelings and my experience of things, rather than just trying to create a perfect picture of what is going on in the council, that it will come home to people that politicians are humans too.
“It is a vulnerable thing to put yourself online and actually tell the truth. I don’t have to do anything fancy or have amazing skills or experience; I just have to say how I am finding the world.”
Juggling a new baby girl at the same time as serving as a councillor, Cllr Lux describes it as a “double-edged sword”.
Councillors are not officially employed by the authority, unlike council staff and officers, meaning they are not subject to employment law or any accompanying rights.
They are democratically elected, receive allowances, and any rules are subject to the ruling group’s policies.
She says this means they do not automatically get the right to maternity leave or pay.
However, on the other hand, Cllr Lux emphasised she does not have any contracted hours or a manager and so is able to be “completely in charge of my own schedule and diary”.
The council’s current executive, or cabinet, comprises 75 per cent women.
“They all understand what it is like to be a new mum, so they are very kind and supportive,” she added.
“The culture is very pro-women and pro-family.”
Cllr Lux can be found on TikTok @samjlux.
