A dilemma

I predict that the turnout will be very low because people are so fed up with politicians.
That will be a pity as these local elections are not to do with Brexit.

I wouldn't vote tactically in a local election.

I'd probably vote for the person who promises to do the most good for the local community. However, our Lib Dem candidate in the local elections made wonderful promises - we've only seen him once and heard nothing from him or know what he's done since then so I think he's a damp squib.

However, the local MP (whom I did not vote for as he is a Brexiter Tory) is very pro-active about local issues.

You are so right Day6 . My dad and his chums do nothing but moan about the council and their incompetence, the rise in council taxes and the lack of services and yet when polling day comes around .........

I think that's the case in quite a few areas gilly

I don't understand people who say they are lifelong voters for one party. The Labour party of today, for example, is very different from the Labour Party of my youth and then tended to be supported, solely, by the working class. That is not the case today. We moved from an area here academics and professionals voted Labour, but the ones I knew were most definitely uncaring NIMBY types.

I am anti-EU but as I mentioned in an earlier post, our local Lib Dem councillors are very hard working and we get lots of feedback from them. I am not a fan of Vince Cable and his policies but as others have pointed out, at grass-roots level it is important to have good people in office, no matter the colour of their rosette.

My local vote will have no bearing whatsoever. Whoever I vote for whatever monkey is wearing the red tie will always win !

Personally speaking, I would never vote Conservative or Lib Dem but I might vote Green.

If I had no particular objection to the stance of any of the parties, I would vote for the person who has done a good job locally even if I was disillusioned with the main political parties and/or the political system in general.

marye as can any label

But the label independent can hide a multitude of sins......

I suspect that most people who put themselves forward for local elections are well motivated and intend to do their best for residents. Perhaps it is not a bad idea to send a message to the two main parties and vote for an independent?

I am voting for an excellent candidate who is standing for the local conservative party. He is a lovely man who, I have known for some time and, I know he will do an excellent job. He has previously spent many years working in the local community as a volunteer.

Not a clue who I would vote for in a general election

You are voting for local councillors who will be dealing with local issues. Many of them are disappointed with the way their parties, and in some cases, MPs,are behaving.
As local people you have more opportunity to find out about them, their track record and commitment and to meet them to ask pertinent questions.
Don't with-hold your vote because of the party they represent, vote for them because you think they will do a good job. In my opinion and experience no-one goes in for local politics because they want to improve their career; they go in because they really want to serve. Long hours, very little remuneration and held to blame for all local ills, in some cases threatened with violence.
There is an ever-increasing gap between local government and Parliament, witness the fury of local councillors over the actions of their representatives in Westminster.
Use your judgement to select the people you think will do the best job, irrespective of their politics.

Financial Times 2019: Councils in England are calling for the end of austerity, saying the UK government plans to slash their core funding 77 per cent. Between 2015 and 2020, the Revenue Support Grant will have shrunk 77p in the pound, the Local Government Association says.

Council candidates should be promising to use their Council's reserves to preserve services, and to campaign against the myth of austerity. They should publicise the fact that since 2008 the banks have been given 500 billion pounds, that is 500 thousand million pounds while many many services have already been chopped or privatised!

Our market town council has 40 councillors, all up for re-election this year. The current state of the parties are 37 Tory, 1 Labour, 1 Independent and 1 vacant.

Although the list of candidates has yet to be issued I understand there are around 20 independents standing this year. Of these are at least 3 candidates who are ex Tory (Tory councillors until re-election) who many will not trust until they can prove they have officially withdrawn their allegiance to the Tories.

I should also add that the county council elections take place at the same time and our Tory county council is one of the most corrupt with currently a number of ongoing police investigations. Will be interesting to see the fate of some of these.

Yes just joking Lily65
Until the elections for an EU MEP that is!

What we need to bear in mind is that the councillors we elect will have a job to do and we’ll all pay the price if we cast our vote just as a message to Westminster.

MrsJamJam, if both major parties get voted down massively in local elections- they will and do notice, for sure.

I have always believed that in local elections I should vote for the person and in national ones for the party. However, this time round I am tempted to vote for either LIbDem or independent just to send a message to the two major parties. It is either that or write I ABSTAIN on the paper.

Our MP is a sycophant of TM so I know that when the next GE comes along I won't vote for him.

I'd vote tactically - anyone but Labour or Conservatives. I have sent my Labour card back and joined both Greens and Lib Dems- they will get my vote, both local and national.

I have reread my post, my intention was never to ask anyone else to decide for me as I am perfectly capable of making up my own mind. However, I am still intrigued about why a local vote should or shouldn't be regarded as having a bearing on national policy.

It seems a great pity that good local people should be voted out of office locally because
of the national mess.

UG, are you saying you would vote for a Farage Brexit party or are you having a little joke?

I’ve nearly always voted LD locally. They keep in touch - emails, news letters, etc and really involve themselves locally. I don’t care what anyone nationally thinks of what my vote ‘means’ re Brexit. For me it’s an endorsement of our decent coucillors.

Sorry. FountainPen

Fountainpen
I well thought out comment and I agree with all of it.
I know that we have a well run council but have little idea what each of the councillor's responsibilities are.
IMO, they each have their pet projects and I could predict, well into the future, which party will have a majority of councillors.
If I were to suggest a different outcome, there would be a collective raising of eyebrows and looks of disbelief, the same reaction as was received when I tabled a motion of more inclusivity at a local club meeting.

I have been pleasantly surprised by how hard working our Lib Dem councillors are. They are very active and campaign to get things done. They knock doors and reply to queries and regularly send out surveys to see how satisfied residents are in their local area. I have never known such active and involved councillors. (They don't have a majority on the council)

Sadly, as Cable and the party are pro EU they won't be getting my vote, but I have written to thank them and tell them how impressed I am by their involvement locally.

I am likely to vote anti-EU Independent from now on after the duplicitous referendum betrayal.

I would ignore that. The leaders of both major parties want out, just a different kind of out.

Local governance is different to Westminster governance. Partywise, I vote differently in local and Parliamentary elections.

Concentrate on what your current councillors have achieved or not achieved to your satisfaction over their term of office and look at what new candidates are offering to do. What is it that you think is excellent about the current incumbents?

Your council will have a website where you can see what particular committee responsibilities current councillors have as well as their full council responsibilities.

Do you go to meetings, read minutes, really know what is going on e.g. whether the people you are being asked to vote for again are speaking for or against important proposals which would benefit local people. If against, why?

Sadly, many people do vote on party lines not realising that the things they complain about, the things they would like changed at local level are being repeatedly opposed by the very people they vote for.

Take this month to find out what is really going on before chosing to waste your vote based on newspaper and central government propaganda. Vote for the candidate(s) who best encompass what you would like for your ward.