Councillor Matthew Golby

I first became a councillor in 2009 on both Northamptonshire County Council and Northampton Borough Council, holding various positions of responsibility and became cabinet member for Learning Skills & Education here at NCC in May of 2014.  My Great Grandfather started our family business - a nursery and garden centre business located in Duston and Spratton - in 1923. My studies and much of my working life has revolved around our business which has changed hugely through the generations.  As a result I have always been close to my senior family members, who always encouraged me to pay attention to what is going on around me, and to have an opinion. This is the reason I became involved in local politics.  Aside from my family business, I spent a period as a national brand and marketing manager for a US based company in the automotive aftermarket industry with an involvement in motorsport, which was a fantastic experience for me. 

I am the Council’s Acting Leader, having previously served as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Education. This is an honour, although quite a daunting one! I believe we need focus firmly on our journey of improvement across Children’s Services following the Ofsted inspection in 2016 which recognised significant improvements in our children’s services.  A key part of this is the issue of permanence of our social workers and I hear this loudly from various young people I come into contact with at the boards and forums held across the county.  We will do all we can to recruit and retain the very best front line people to share our passion to provide the very best for our children. I would also like to do all we can to continue with our Race To The Top Education strategy which aspires to improve the educational outcomes for Northamptonshire children. As the chair of the Virtual School governing body, I am also particularly interested in improving the outcomes for our looked after children.

The biggest challenge I feel the Council now faces is a financial one.  Local Government is being asked to provide more for less.  In a demand-led directorate such as Children, Families and Education, this proves a huge challenge, especially when we are continuously challenging and bettering the service we provide.  We also have the opportunity to change and improve the lives of young people through the work we do in this directorate, and that to me is the most exciting part of my role.  Meeting young people and hearing their stories inspires me.  I was very lucky to have been brought up in a loving stable family home and I know this is not the case for all children.  I am inspired by hearing how young people achieve in the face of adversity which I find remarkable and I have the pleasure to see this regularly at various award ceremonies I attend.  Although we have many strategic challenges we have to meet, it is crucial we never lose sight of the responsibility we have in shaping peoples lives. 

Outside of work I love playing and watching sport, although having children puts pay to spending a great deal of time away from family duties.  I have played cricket in the Northamptonshire leagues for around 15 years with some low and high points!  I also have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and enjoy golf and sporty challenges.  My family now takes priority and I love showing my little boy, Oliver, how to throw, hit and kick.  At home we have three dogs, five chickens, two ducks, one cat and a tortoise. Life is never dull!