Brian Clements will bring a wealth of local government experience to the Liberal Democrat team, arguably more experience than any other candidate in the conurbation. He spent 30 years as a Councillor with 12 years as Leader of the Borough of Poole Council and wants to see the new BCP Council developing a vision that will take the conurbation forward without sacrificing the individual identity of local communities. Area Committees were initiated by Brian as a means of Poole Council engaging with local people but Tory control saw them undermined and eventually scrapped. The rest of Dorset has Town and Parish Councils which allow for appropriate devolution of decision making and more effective engagement with local communities but the BCP Shadow Authority has refused to consider that for Poole.
Brian’s commitment to partnership working led to a Bournemouth Dorset & Poole Economic Partnership being formed and environmental concerns being addressed through the founding of Poole Agenda 21. One notable success was helping to prevent BP building an artificial island in Poole Bay to extract oil. Tourism and Town Centre Management partnerships were developed to ensure that Poole Council worked closely with the private sector. He is most proud to have been involved in the setting up of the Poole Youth Forum and the contribution he made as a School Governor and Chair of Governors. He played a leading role representing councils regionally, nationally and internationally.
Brian first came to Poole in 1966, worked as a senior manager at the Plessey Company (now Siemens) and went on to teach Computer Engineering at The College. Having left Poole Council in 2015, he anticipated retirement but has become very disappointed in the way it has been run and now wants to return to local politics to demand better from BCP Council.