The relationship between the elected and the electorate is central to the representative claim, not merely in the consenting moments of election, but through the ensuing “interactive process of interest articulation” (Celis, 2012). This involves multiple actors within (and outwith) each constituency where debates about the descriptive and substantive representation of women continue to inform and challenge notions of representativeness.
Firmly situated within current debates about the gendered nature of representation, and moving beyond the site of national political institutions, this paper explores the representative claims of local (ward) councillors in an English region of the UK. Preliminary findings from interviews with both male and female councillors will be presented. Comparative analysis of how these elected local representatives understand and articulate their own claims of representativeness has potential to deepen our understanding of its reflexive and constitutive nature, based on three distinct features of UK local authority level politics:
1. local services are perceived to be more congruent with ‘women’s interests’ (Phillips, 1996)
2. the “dynamic process of claims” (Saward, 2010) is conducted through more dense vertical relationships than in parliamentary constituencies
3. local level ward teams potentially provide a rich horizontal seam of political relationships for both increased descriptive representation and more nuanced substantive representation of diverse ‘women’s interests’.
“parliamentary strategies are important, but not necessarily the only political means for improving the lives of women as a group.” (Celis et al, 2008)
