Will you be casting your vote today? With saturation media coverage of this weekend's Coronation, it would be easy to forget that there are municipal elections taking place across much of England today.
I spent much of my working life in local government communications with a range of councils in England, so I know how fraught a time this can be for those involved. I even occasionally worked as a poll clerk back in the day, although I am not sure that I could handle the 16 hour day at my age now.
Turnout at local council elections is always on the low side, rarely much above 30 per cent. It can often seem that people like to moan and complain about council services, but can't be bothered to vote when they are given a chance to change the way those services are delivered.
I think that this voter apathy is at least partly caused by the fact that it's not always clear what councils actually are responsible for. Even people who work in local government find it difficult to explain the difference between a Metropolitan Borough and a District Council, so it can come as no surprise that the public find it confusing. Voter indifference may also be caused by the low quality of the candidates contesting the seats. While there are certainly still some talented candidates around, too often electors have to choose between the unemployed and the unemployable.
An additional factor which will unquestionably reduce turnout today is the fact that for the first time voters will have to show photo ID at the polling station. Quite why the Conservative Government has decided to insist on photo ID is something of a mystery as voter fraud has never been an issue in mainland UK. Of course the people least likely to have passports or driving licences, and who therefore may well be denied their right to vote, are the young or those in the lowest socio economic groups. In other words, people who are somewhat unlikely to vote Conservative. What a coincidence!
Media coverage of the elections is likely to concentrate on how the results can be used to predict the outcome of next year's General Election. I think that this is a difficult path to go down. Apart from the low turnout likely today, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that voters often vote for Party A in local polls and Party B in general elections. Don't forget that the Conservatives lost badly in the May 2019 council elections, but won a huge majority in the General Election later that year.
So please go and vote if you live in an area where elections are being held today. It's your chance to hold decision makers to account…. just don't forget to take your passport with you.
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