Carran made history in 2021 as the first Labour councillor to be re-elected in Sefton for Southport.  First elected in 2019 in a bye-election for one year, she then prepared for re-election in 2020 but her efforts were thwarted by the pandemic so she remounted her campaign again in 2021. She increased her vote considerably.  She says this was due to sheer hard and consistent work in the ward responding positively to residents of all political persuasions alongside learning to understand how the council works and linking residents to services.

As well as representing Norwood Ward Carran’s responsibilities to Sefton Borough Council include membership of Planning Committee, Climate Action Reference Group, Liverpool City Region Overview and Scrutiny, Cultural Strategy Steering Group and Vice Chair of Licensing Committee.  Her ward community responsibilities include membership  of the High Park Project Steering Group, Friends of High Park Green Spaces and High Park Community Action Group.

Carran worked as secondary school teacher in Coventry between 1980 and 1995.  She set up the international award winning theatre company Triangle Theatre (est. 1988) producing innovative creative work with and for young people as well as touring adult work.  Much of the performance and educational work was created in collaboration with communities in the West Midlands travelling as far afield as Australia, Japan, Russia and USA. Triangle worked in partnership with Coventry City Council between 2000 and 2010 as theatre company in residence at Coventry City Council’s Herbert Museum and Art Gallery integrating arts and community practice and exchange there as well as working alongside the city’s renowned Belgrade Theatre. Carran had extensive and significant input into Coventry’s cultural offer for over twenty years. (1988-2010)

Since moving to Southport where her husband’s family is rooted, Carran was awarded an Honorary Research Fellowship position at Manchester University where she has contributed to teaching and an AHRC funded research project ‘Poor Theatres’ concerning the performance of and history of poverty and welfare.  She also regularly directs student projects for the School of Media and Performance at the University of Salford.

Carran joined the Labour Party in direct response to the promises of Jeremy Corbyn.  She cares about creative expression as a political force. Her main work concerns the development of a cultural strategy for Sefton which she hopes will be achieved across parties and will be part of making Sefton a destination of significance in the UK.