Why is turnout in local elections so low?

I voted fior an independant candidate . Waste of breath and paper though .

Our councillors are a) mostly male b) mostly above retirement age or at least getting that way and c) very full of their own self importance. Only the LP bothers to canvas at all. Others sometimes shove leaflets through the door but we never actually see any candidates.

This time, a young woman came round, introduced herself and asked if we would vote for her. It was so good to see a young person in the frame.

I do wonder if people generally are fully aware what services are provided locally. For instance, I'm aware that some people think hospitals are run by the local authority. Others are confused between local and national government (ie. the civil service).

Better education on civic affairs is the answer, surely.

Labour have been in power locally for many years but they did make the attempt to canvas not once but a couple of times as did the Conservatives. I was aware fairly early because of the amount of leaflets delivered almost twice weekly. The Lb Dems did not bother and they also did not waste money on setting out their ideas on paper.

One fairly rich area has been wiped out and Labour has taken over- it will be interesting next time.

gilly do you happen to know what overall share of the actual votes cast candidates from other parties received? Indeed were there candidates from other parties?

3 other candidates maryeliza conservatives, independent and green .

There were no elections here this year but I agree with MaizieD, I think many people just aren't interested. So long as bins get emptied and potholes filled, people aren't bothered.

My Dd used to work for a local council and sometimes dealt with complaints. 95% of them were about bins and the roads!

Years ago, we lived in an area where almost all councillors were independent, they really did seem to just want was best for the community. So many councillors now seem to have vested interests, often revolving around building/planning issues.

Bins emptied - tick. Potholes filled - aaaggghhhh

IKR! Driving on some of our local roads is like doing a slalom, trying to avoid falling into a deep, dark pit of obscurity!

^We need investment in our towns. We need to stop the encroachment on our few remaining green belts and build on the many brown fill sites closer to the town centres. I'd also say, we need more people living in the town centres. It seems to work in market towns and wealthy cities doesn't it

I agree with you Iam64

These are issues our local councils should be promoting.
However, so many city centres are suffering as shops close due to online shopping habits. I am not sure how we can re-energise them, but we need to stop the rot now before they all become depressing. I was in Leeds and Manchester frequently last month and people do live in the city centre but I was surprised how many huge and soulless blocks of flats (sorry 'apartments') had been built around city centres, how many blocks of student accommodation existed and how many pop-up, small tenancy shops there were. It didn't seem hopeful or exciting, just rather faceless and sad.

As others have mentioned, I don't think residents have much faith in local government. All local councils (of larger cities) seem to encourage development in terms of building but the extra revenue from rents, etc, seems to be swallowed up. One political group seems much like the other.

And I too had no one canvas in the form of door knocking or leaflets. I did know who the candidates were because I make a point of checking but many would not have realised there was a local election in these parts.

I think most people feel it doesn't make much difference to their daily life. I got results when I continually harassed a couple of Conservative councillors about our parking problems, but I would have expected the same from any of the parties.

agree Deedaa people I know dont see a change in council as making any difference .They need to feel their vote will force a change and that doesn't happen in local elections.The councils are still run under the same westminster constraints ..so no change.When there is a hope of making a big difference people come out to vote because they think their vote counts so elections for the parliaments do much better