Local elections preview
The unprecedented decision to stage two cycles of English local elections at the same time means that we need to focus on the contrasting past outcomes in two separate years to make any sense of what might happen this May.
local by-elections
A test of endurance
It is nearly half a century since the last wholesale review of English local government in 1973 created a pattern of county and constituent district councils. Much has happened since then, of course.
Reaping the winner’s bonus
Our ‘first past the post’ electoral system has two key characteristics when translating votes into seats.
Measuring the strength of local parties
The Electoral Commission has reported that the Hersham Village Society received more than £200,000 left to it in a local resident’s will. Various other residents’ associations in Elmbridge must be envious of such largesse.
Crossing the floor
In recent years it has become more common for members of Parliament to quit the party under whose banner they were elected and sit either as Independents or for one of their former rivals.
The gender gap
A long-standing issue for local government has been the recruitment of women councillors, with the LGA’s 2018 councillor census showing 36 per cent were female.
The challenge of combined elections
Local electoral administrators, unsung heroes of democracy, have become used to conducting combined elections in recent years. But May 2021 will present many of them in England with their biggest challenge yet.
Tackling low turnout
Low and declining turnout is a long-running feature of local elections in the UK. Indeed, the gap in turnout with parliamentary elections is one of the largest among liberal democracies.
The right time for remote voting?
The pandemic has concentrated attention across the world on the philosophy and practice of remote voting.
The councils prone to by-elections
What factors influence the frequency of by-elections, and are some councils more prone than others to having to fill casual vacancies?