Comment: Why you should care about the local elections Published on: 28 April 2016 Writing for The Conversation, Dr Alistair Clark argues that voting in local elections can make a difference. , Given all the sound, fury and that is the contest for the , people in England could be forgiven for not realising that there are also local elections happening in early May. In a range of district, unitary and metropolitan councils, more than will be up for grabs. There will also be 41 in England and Wales. Plus, there will be mayoral elections in London, Bristol, Liverpool and Salford. With postal voting now widely used, some people have even begun casting their votes for all these elections. Local elections are often dismissed as being 鈥溾�� elections with nothing much at stake. And with at least some justification local elections have previously been deemed the 鈥溾��. Turnout can often be low, particularly when council elections are being held on their own instead of alongside European or general elections. It is not unusual to find around of eligible voters staying at home, and only around a third casting a vote for their local council candidates. This is not helped by the perception that local councils have very little power. Enthusiasm also wanes when it becomes apparent that many councils around the country are effectively dominated by one party, year after year. Committees in both the and the House of Commons have considered the reasons for low turnout in local elections in recent years, making some quite technical , such as considering new voting methods, public information campaigns, and altering the terminology used to describe the voting process. Why Bother Voting? Elections provide voters with a choice of competing candidates, platforms, and parties. They provide a mechanism for holding representatives to account for their performance in office and allow citizens a degree of control over their elected representatives. If you don鈥檛 like what they are doing, don鈥檛 just stay at home, get out there and vote for a candidate who may do a better job. Political parties care about who controls local councils. This is why they spend time and money standing for election to them. Holding them accountable for their performance is vital. Get out there 鈥� and vote. Annette Shaff/shutterstock The heated debate over how government cuts have affected , and campaigns to save local public services such as libraries has demonstrated how people are deeply engaged with what happens in their communities. Some councils have tried to engage people in decision making through participatory structures. The point is that councils can always do things differently, even if they may have reduced and limited sources of income. But control and leadership of a council can lead to very different public policies being pursued. Past attempts by some Conservative councils to experiment with 鈥溾�� 鈥� a no frills approach to service delivery (think easyJet but for councils) is just one example. Evidence has also shown that councils can be to policy demands expressed during elections. Libraries and other public services that may otherwise have closed have been saved because of public pressure, even if cuts need to be made. 缅北禁地 Council was heavily criticised over a proposed complete cut to its arts budget in 2012. Now, with the council having maintained some arts funding after a public outcry, culture in the region. With significant powers being devolved to some areas, more powers will likely be available for the local authorities involved in these deals. Public pressure matters, and voting in elections is a key part of that. Boosting local democracy, one vote at a time. Kevin George/Shutterstock Local elections also provide voters with a chance to pursue change. Fed up with how one party runs the council? Then vote for something different. Small parties have often gained greater prominence by being successful in local councils first. built their success in Brighton Pavilion on the back of contesting council seats. The Liberal Democrats built their success prior to 2010 by 鈥溾��. This saw them contesting seats on councils, using that as a springboard to winning parliamentary representation 鈥� which has also been done by other small parties, with UKIP recently adopting such a . In some areas, this has meant that there can often be non-partisan local independents on the council, claiming they put the area鈥檚 interests ahead of a party鈥檚. There has been an and independent candidates in recent years as voters experiment with different ways of doing politics. The people鈥檚 politics In an individualistic age, duty and service are unpopular words. But little in public life would get done without them. People tend to be proud of where they live and take an interest in it. In many of public opinion, it is typical for local representatives to be more trusted and rated than it is for politics and politicians generally. While people may not know their councillor or local MP personally, they see them in the newspaper and on local TV doing things for residents. More than one report into local government has referred to elections as 鈥渢he essence of local democracy鈥�. Getting out to vote shows both an appreciation of what representatives do 鈥� which is mostly unpaid and on our behalf. It confers legitimacy on the local council and shows how much residents care about what goes on in their local area. Voting can be habit forming. It can also make a difference. If you have a local election on May 5, make sure that you get out and vote. , Senior Lecturer in Politics, This article was originally published on . Read the . Share: Latest News 缅北禁地 recognised with geography award 缅北禁地 has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK鈥檚 open-access, dedicated video platform. published on: 16 April 2026 缅北禁地 historians mark General Strike centenary To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners鈥� lock-out of 1926, historians at 缅北禁地 are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy. published on: 16 April 2026 Comment: NCP is in administration Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can鈥檛 adjust to change. published on: 16 April 2026 Facts and figures
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