After the excitement of various reviews and unitary status over the last few months, we can now settle down to one of our favourite things in local government – elections.
But, despite millions of hours of human activity over the last decade, and, indeed, millions of pounds spent on research, reviews and so on, the bulk of electors will shun the ballot boxes in May.
The French presidential elections provide an example of some of the things that might need to change to get electors back to the ballot boxes.
First is a feeling that voting will make a real difference – the choice between politicians in France is a real one, with serious differences between the candidates’ policies.
The most common reason for not voting here is that it will not make any difference who wins, given national targets. And there is some truth in this.
A local party which decided to do anything truly different from what the centre regards as ‘appropriate’ would rapidly find itself in trouble under CPA.
It’s sometimes hard, even for bean counters like me, to tell the difference between Conservative and Labour councils. There are good and bad councils still, but very often this has more to do with competence and personality than party politics.
Second, a large number of potential voters remain oblivious to local elections. My Easter holiday in Italy – where local election turnouts are 80-90% – saw me unable to avoid the fact that every single lamppost, coffee shop and bill board in most towns was covered in banners and leaflets extolling one or other of the many candidates, with huge mug shots of politicians everywhere. They weren’t good looking, but I sure as hell knew an election was taking place.
Compare this with a visit to most towns and cities in Britain over the next month and you would detect the difference. n
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