Milestones marked for long-serving councillor

A Preston councillor who was first elected 40 years ago has been given the freedom of the city.

Jonathan Saksena calculates he has helped constituents with more than 24,000 pieces of casework during his four decades of service. 

He is believed to be only the third member of Preston City Council – or Preston Borough Council, as it was when he started out – to have achieved the 40-year milestone in the modern local government era.

Now aged 74, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he does not feel “any diminishing enthusiasm” for a role which he has relished – but said he will probably not stand for re-election next year. 

“That is probably enough,” said the Labour politician, who has served on multiple committees during his time, but always managed to avoid the planning committee, which he says he has an “aversion” to.     

Cllr Saksena endured an enforced hiatus between 2008 and 2010 after his one and only election loss.   Prior to that, he repented the Brookfield ward from when he was first elected in 1984, before switching to his current Ribbleton ward after his return to the town hall 15 years ago.

The biggest change he has noticed across all his years in local politics is a reduction in both resources and, at a district level like he has been operating at in Preston, powers.

“It’s more difficult to do things these days – you have to do your best with much more limited funding.

“The council is also no longer responsible for housing after the transfer of the social housing stock from the authority to a third-party provider and we don’t have the transport powers we once had either – for instance, we used to run the buses,” explained Cllr Saksena, who was deputy leader of the authority between 2004 and 2007 and also served as mayor in 2002/3. 

One thing that has not diminished down the decades is that casework – the issues brought to him by constituents in need of his help.   

“I think I could write a book on it,” he joked.

Further proving his love of local authorities, he worked until retirement as a library services at Lancashire County Council.

Asked whether he thought the next generation of councillors would display his longevity, he said he took heart from the fact that there were some younger faces within the ruling Labour group, before adding:  “It depends what sort of staying power they’ve got as to whether they’ll last as long as me.”

Speaking at a special ceremony held at the town hall, Mayor of Preston, Cllr Sue Whittam, said:

 “Jonathan Saksena has been a wonderful ambassador for Preston for many years, and we thank him for his service to Preston.

 “I am delighted to preside over this ceremony and welcome Councillor Jonathan Saksena to the group of leading Prestonians on this list of Honorary Freemen and Freewomen of the City of Preston.”

He is only the twenty-sixth person to receive the honour since 1902.