Speakers’ Corner: Lourda Scott

Lourda Scott APR24

ith the local elections set for Friday, June 7th, we have once again sent out our Speakers’ Corner questionnaire to the local wide-eyed hopefuls.

Starting with the 11 candidates running in the Greystones Electoral Area, we’ll then open the floor to the other 8,863 upstanding Wicklow citizens currently stepping into the ring for 2024.

Up for grabs, 32 councillor seats across this great county of ours, with all the hopes and dreams – plus prestige, pressure, resentment, ridicule and mediocre pay – that such an exalted position entails.

Suffice to say, there are plenty of candidates to choose from, from the strong, silent types who simply, quietly get on with their work in the community to the loud, social media-shagging self-promoters who seem to leave little time for any actual graft. We’ve been reporting on this town daily for 12 years now, and the one thing we’ve become very, very wary of is the black arts of stolen valour. Feckers sticking their flag in other people’s hard work by racing to share the good news first on Facebook, Instagram and beyond, slyly hoovering up all the likes, thanks and praise in the process.

It’s akin to waiting at the finish line and throwing your arm around the winner for a quick selfie, owning their victory online before they’ve even had time to catch their breath.

So, whatever your party loyalties and your political leanings, it’s worth taking a moment to look beyond the glitter. These people will be your eyes and ears – and big mouth – down in Wicklow County Council, after all.

In the meantime, on with Speakers Corner 2024, and the Green machine, Lourda Scott. First, a quick bio…

Councillor Scott wants Wicklow to be an inclusive and sustainable community where people enjoy working and living. She stands for inclusiveness, equality and diversity and for a society that values everyone, regardless of their background, and where the wellbeing of a community is not just measured through economics.

She believes in a sustainable society where environmental impact is placed at the heart of policy decisions and where local needs are met with integrated housing, childcare and educational infrastructure. She also wishes to see affordable, energy efficient housing with more social housing built on public lands.

And now for the Guide’s earth-shattering yet life-affirming questions…

What inspired you to become involved in local politics? Was there a Road To District Council moment…?
I would never have seen myself as a ‘politician’, being more of an activist over the years.

In 2018, after campaigning for Repeal, I was inspired being part of a movement led by strong women but also very frustrated at the lack of female representation in politics. I could also see this in the community where i was involved with a number of volunteer groups, predominately led by women, yet I didn’t see this reflected at Council level.

I was giving out about this to a friend of mine and she asked me why I didn’t run myself. So, after she asked me a few more times, I figured if I wanted to see the change, I had to help make it, and I took the plunge!

Of your work so far, are there particular achievements that you are particularly proud of?
I’ll start by saying any achievements are always with the support and help of the wider community.

There have been lots of big issues that I have campaigned for that have come to pass, such as getting 30km speed limits around all the schools in the county and putting a stop to the proposed casino.

When I was running for election in 2019, I called for a policy committee to be dedicated to Climate Action and Biodiversity. I am proud that this was set up and that I am chair, steering many policies through including, the county’s first Climate Action Plan.

Sometimes, it’s the more behind the scenes work that will never make the headlines that are particularly special, such as supporting someone in a housing crisis. But one particular highlight of my term was helping a little boy who uses a wheelchair to get access onto Kilcoole beach for the very first time.

Looking forward, what are the main goals that you would like to achieve over the coming years?
There are some problems, like the lack of secondary school places (including places for children who need a special class), that I have been deeply involved with since 2019, and I really want to continue lobbying and working on this until it is fully resolved.

Continuing my work on the Climate and Biodiversity Policy committee is even more important now as there are lots of funding opportunities for local community groups and I know just how many talented, passionate people we have working already in this area.

I want to make progress on making our social housing stock better maintained and insulated. Other matters that I have been working on and want to finish are: getting that promised community building in Archer’s Wood built; finding a home for Newcastle FC; I got the Council to do an accessibility audit on our beaches, I want to get that completed and the findings implemented; get the Bolt ebike sharing scheme rolled out to Greystones; continue to talk with the National Transport Authority about the Bus Connect feedback I have been getting from constituents, and lobby for general improvements to public transport in the area… I could go on for a lot, lot longer!

To turn a fine Mayor Quimby quote into a question, ask not what you can do for your county, but what you can do for your county…?
It can be easy during an election to list all the problems (schools, public transport, not enough sports facilities, poor state of roads and footpaths, lack of green spaces, etc) But I consider myself to be someone who gets things done.

After 5 years working on behalf of the community, I have built up strong working relationships both within the Council, with outside agencies and with the different community groups I volunteer with or have campaigned for.

This means that I know how to keep local issues on the agenda and know who to go to push for change. I know that persistence is key – it takes more than a press release and a photo to actually achieve results.

If being a politician doesn’t work out, have you got a Career B in mind? Dancer? Magician? Traffic warden…?
Magician sounds tempting, if I could use my magic wand to fix all of the above instantly!

Finally, Trump or Biden?
Ideally, neither, and I’d say Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. But with the choice we have it would have to be Biden. He has disappointed hugely over his response (or lack of response) to Gaza. However, Trump is racist, an abuser of women and an insurrectionist. His name shouldn’t even be on the ballot paper.

You can find out more about Lourda Scott right about here, follow on Instagram here, Facebook here or the evil X here, and get in touch directly by email here.