Tomorrow morning I have an interview to see if I am suitable to stand as a candidate in next year’s local elections. It will be with a panel made up of the chair of the local party, someone from the Labour group on the council and someone from the South East Region labour party.

If they say I meet the minimum standards then I join the panel of candidates from which ward parties can select their candidate.

I have been at general and executive meetings of the constituency where a lot of members have complained about this process, saying that they feel demeaned having to justify their abilities after x years of being on the council, when the interviewers may have never been elected to any office at all.

You might expect me to feel the same way. Not too long ago I was a councillor, chair of a council committee and deputy mayor, shouldn’t I feel it is self-evident that I am capable?

Actually, no I don’t and no it isn’t? As they say in adverts for investments, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. I have changed a lot in the last year or two, become more politicised if anything. Maybe that is not compatible with what the party needs now. I do know that, whatever anyone else thinks, I am not happy with my performance as a councillor in the past and would certainly approach it all very differently in the future.

Last year I had to have an interview like this while I was still a sitting councillor, and I didn’t complain. I think it is a good thing if it is done properly.

With our council being more and more marginal, it is more important than ever for the party to vote together to be able to carry out its policies. One person voting against the whip at the wrong time can be significant now. The interviewing panel should have a report from the group’s whip showing what someone’s voting record is like if they are currently, or have ever been, a councillor.

Discipline in our party has been a bit of a problem for a long time, but while we had majorities of 10 seats or more it was never a big issue. For a while now the labour group seems to have been avoiding the issue by making several contentious issues a free vote – so no chance of being forced to withdraw the whip from anyone. This process gives the party a chance to make sure it only selects candidates who will have some sense of loyalty and collective responsibility.

The process also gives newer members of the party some reassurance that everyone is getting the same treatment and an equal chance, otherwise they could feel that all sitting councillors, regardless of advanced age, infirmity, frequent absences and contrary voting will be re-selected by the ‘old boys network’ in the local wards, so this ‘vetting’ helps to motivate those newer members who are ambitious.

It does work too. Not perfectly, but it is getting better. Last year one of our sitting councillors did not get past the interviews when his local party reported his attendance at meetings and events in that area. The year before a couple of sitting councillors did not get past the interview as it was decided they were not being effective any more in the council. One of them I still see around, and he seems to have a new lease of life now he is not tied to the council, although initially he was obviously quite upset abut it. He probably should have retired gracefully, but once you have been doing something for twenty years or more it is hard to let go.

This should be an interesting year for selections. Usually there are about 10 seats up for election and about 11 possible candidates. This year there will be many more candidates than seats as we have all the sitting councillors who will probably want to stand again, plus several who lost borough seats in 2004, plus a number of new candidates like my own wife and the world-famous Eugene Sully.

Fortunately I am not desperate to be on the council again and can take it or leave it. Realistically I expect to pass the interview OK, not get selected for any winnable seats, but have a reasonable chance of being selected in a seat we do not expect to win. I think that might be fun. I would enjoy the campaigning anyway.