𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

But the other week, I did allow myself a brief moment of joy. Rather than feeling like the council is squeezing residents for every last penny, I had some news that felt like quite the opposite. A nurse in Middlesbrough won £25,000 – and it was thanks to our very own council lottery.

It’s a simple idea. Councils sign up to a nationwide scheme, residents buy a £1 ticket and local authorities bolster their own income as well as raising thousands for good causes in their towns. A no-brainer, you’d think, given the financial pressures?

When I was in charge of culture and events, I had plenty of ideas but a budget of almost nothing to deliver them. So I suggested the lottery to fund things people enjoy without saddling taxpayers with the bill. A win-win, surely?

Not according to Labour. At the time, Labour group leader Matt Storey said it was a “sad indictment” and warned councils were “resorting to delivering gambling” while warning against addiction.

Six years on, and thankfully, no one has been left destitute from community lottery-driven addictions. Instead, it’s now on track to raise more than £42,000 for charity this year alongside the £25,000 win for one lucky resident.

Which brings me to my point. Sometimes a good idea is just a good idea – regardless of the political party it comes from. This isn’t a Middlesbrough problem. We see it every day in national politics, too. And I’m sick of it.

Take our high streets: we all know they’re dying. It’s a sad fact that most of our town centres now resemble a zombie apocalypse. And yet instead of sitting around a table like adults and agreeing on a sensible way forward, we get a barrage of competing announcements, and nothing gets done.

Or housing. Again, there’s broad agreement about young people being locked out of home ownership, some, in fact, until they are no longer young and in their 40s! But instead, the same tired arguments go round and round.

Too often, we know the solution. It’s just that politicians are too pigheaded to admit that the other side might just have a point. Meanwhile, back in Middlesbrough, a simple idea that was scoffed at is now quietly raising thousands and making a real difference, not least to one very happy nurse.

Funny what can happen when we stop the bickering – and just get on with it.