Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, May 06, 2019

Local elections in the UK

The elections for local councils in England and Northern Ireland seem to have sent messages to the major parties. What messages did the Tories and Labour receive?

Local elections: Tories and Labour hit by Brexit backlash in polls

The Conservatives and Labour have faced a backlash at the ballot box over the Brexit deadlock, with smaller parties and independents winning seats.

In England so far, the Tories have lost more than 700 seats and 25 councils overall, while the Liberal Democrats have gained nearly 450 seats.

National politics seems to have been a deciding factor for voters, with Labour also losing almost more than 70 so far…

The Green Party has done well, adding more than 100 seats so far, but UKIP has lost ground, with 80 fewer councillors at this stage than in 2015. Meanwhile, the number of independent councillors is up by more than 300…

While local elections give voters the chance to choose the decision-makers who affect their communities, the national issue loomed large on the doorstep…

Theresa May, appearing at the Welsh Conservative conference, said voters had sent the "simple message" that her party and Labour had to "get on" with delivering Brexit.

Speaking in Greater Manchester, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he "wanted to do better" and conceded voters who disagreed with its backing for Brexit had deserted the party.

But Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, in Chelmsford Essex, where his party took control of the council, said it had been a "brilliant" result and that "every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for stopping Brexit".

Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said the days of the Conservatives and Labour dominating the electoral landscape, as happened in the 2017 election, when they won 80% of the vote between them, "may be over"…

Prof Curtice said there was a North/South divide emerging in the losses too, with the Conservatives shedding more seats in the South - especially in areas that voted Remain - and Labour losing more in the North.

Green Party co-leader Sian Berry said she was confident her party would end the day with a "record number of councillors on a record number of councils".

She told BBC Breakfast the Greens were not simply benefiting from a protest vote over Brexit and their gains reflected "huge new concerns" about climate change as well as the strength of their local campaigning on a range of issues.

UKIP is down by more than 60 seats on its 2015 performance…

Of the 248 elections in England, 168 have been district councils which are in charge of setting and collecting council tax, bin collections, local planning and council housing.

There were also elections taking place for 47 unitary authorities and 33 metropolitan boroughs which look after education, public transport, policing and fire services, as well as all the services of district councils.

In Northern Ireland, councils are responsible for services including local planning and licensing, waste collection and enforcing safety regulations to do with food, workplaces and the environment.