The Notebook: Why I’m running to be a City Alderman
Where the City’s movers and shakers get a few things off their chest. Today, executive search firm CEO Michael Barrington-Hibbert takes the pen
From street trader to Alderman?
Weaved into the heartbeat of the City, I’ve spent the last several months speaking to folks who work and do business in the Square Mile about what they love and what they’d like to change.
What ensued was an explosion of colourful ideas for our precious patch. I’m determined to act on that supernova.
That’s why I’m standing to be the City’s newest Alderman for Langbourn Ward at the 2nd November elections. In particular:
1. We need to green up the City.
Increasingly, colleagues and visitors tell me they feel like our patch is feeling like a concrete jungle.
That’s why I’m lobbying the Corporation to plant more trees and innovate with more pocket parks to soften our streets and contribute towards carbon neutrality.
2. We need to back the pubs, bars and restaurants that fuel the City
Countless businesses tell me the key barrier to bringing back the pre-pandemic buzz and bustle are staff shortages, especially hospitality businesses
As an executive recruiter by trade, I’m determined to help our pubs, bars, restaurants and retailers find and retain the talent and bake this expertise into the Canada Corporation’s approach.
3. We have a chance to enhance the image of the City
I’m passionate about magnifying the City’s opportunities in order to ensure that people and industry know the Square Mile is for anyone who has the potential and commitment to succeed.
Now, I’m not a politician and I don’t pretend to have all the answers – never have, never will. But I am a do-er, a listener and a people-person who is doggedly determined to positively shape our Square Mile’s future.
What a privilege to be able to offer this up to the City in this election.
The City can and must power social mobility
This month saw the UK’s seventh annual Social Mobility Awards, celebrating the committed businesses, charities and leaders helping those from underestimated backgrounds to break glass ceilings.
I want to congratulate the organisers and all those innovative City firms and leaders who won awards.
Having been on a journey of social mobility myself, it was an honour that the team I lead at Barrington Hibbert Associates were finalists, in recognition for our pioneering of the 10,000 Black Interns initiative.
The little things matter too
Of course, the City isn’t all about glitzy Guildhall, Mansion House and awards evenings, it’s about what’s happening on our streets, too – including the unglamorous.
King among those are the water pipe leaks popping up everywhere and blighting the City’s historic streets (and ratepayers’ wallets!)
After spotting a burst pipe by The Walkie Talkie, I took it up with Thames Water myself to get the unsafe and unsightly spillage sorted. To their credit, they repaired it fast and Lime Street now looks much better.
The small wins matter too!
Back our Independents!
One of the things I love most about any high street are the independent businesses that give them a unique, quirky and authentic character.
These gems are under threat, though, in the face of a strained recovery from the lockdown lull. The best way we can root for them is to redouble the love we show them, even if that means spending a little more or walking a little further to them – because once they’re gone, they’re gone!