Dr Jonathan Carr-West of the LGIU discusses the meaning of the local elections against a backdrop of the biggest local government reorganisation (LGR) and devolution programme for a generation.

At LGIU, we are unashamedly grounded in our mission to empower local democracy and so – of course – when it comes to elections, locals are our favourite type.

This year’s set of local elections are easy to overlook, given that they are much reduced in number. But they are hugely important and not just because they are about choices that will have a significant impact on local places and residents' lives.

These elections are set against a backdrop of the biggest local government reorganisation (LGR) and devolution programme for a generation. There will be a lot of focus on what the results tell us about the changing political landscape, with particular attention paid to the mayoral elections and the fortunes of Reform. But what the elections also provide are lessons about how residents view the institution of local government, which are crucial when considering the creation of the proposed new structures.

Every year before the May elections, the LGIU conducts polling with Ipsos on public attitudes to local government. This year alongside our trended questions, we also asked about the reorganisation and devolution proposals.

The results paint a complex picture.

On one hand our State of the Locals polling confirms that the public continues to recognise the significant role local government plays in their daily lives, with the quality of public services directly linked to the decisions made by councils and councillors.

Yet at the same time, it reveals a persistent lack of understanding about how local government works, a low level of trust in those making decisions, and widespread uncertainty about the proposed reforms to local governance structures.

But that is not the full picture, and it would be wrong to conclude from this that people are indifferent to the way their areas are run. In fact, the polling shows quite the opposite: respondents overwhelmingly believe that local people should have influence over decisions affecting their communities and a majority want to understand more about how decisions are made.

While councils are not exempt from a widespread collapse in trust in political institutions they do, crucially, receive higher trust ratings than central government. Which means that if we are to rebuild trust in our politics, then local government offers us the best platform and reorganisation and devolution offer a chance to do just that.

Any attempt to restore confidence in democratic institutions cannot rely on assumptions of public awareness or automatic support for new governance structures. Only three in 10 respondents to our polling report were aware of the Government’s flagship devolution policy. And while enthusiasm exists for elected mayors in some quarters, at the same time there is no real consensus that unitary authorities will provide better outcomes for areas than the two-tier system.

Devolution and LGR proposals must respond to people’s current lack of understanding and to their desire to be more engaged with decision-making. As we have consistently argued at LGIU, this means enhancing representational democracy with a relational model of governance that centers trust and collaboration with communities.

Genuine involvement of local people in shaping the new structures could be a game-changing step towards reinvigorating trust and public participation in local democratic institutions and many councils are already trying to bake this approach into their devolution and LGR planning.

But central government, as the instigator of these reforms, and as the lead for consultation on devolution, also has an onus to explain and engage with communities. Better public engagement in the early stages across all levels of government would foster a sense of common purpose and ownership of these new councils.

The next two years will be critical. There’s a real risk that devolution and reorganisation carried out at pace and without sufficient public involvement will exacerbate the current crisis in trust.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Working in partnership with residents, the Government and councils could ensure that trust, transparency, and participation are the foundations for the emerging new model of local governance.

For anyone who cares about the long-term health of our local democracy, that is an opportunity we cannot afford to squander.