[Politics] May 2021 local elections and Hartlepool by-election

[Da Man Clay]

Yep. Always vote. Will spoil my PCC ballot as vehemently apposed to the politicising of that post.

 

[Scoffers]

I have no strong affiliation with any political party. In my time I've voted Tory, Labour and Liberal in different elections depending on who I believe best represented my views at the time.

Mrs Scoffers and I always vote, we've not missed one ever, even though it might seem pointless to some, we feel that it is important to vote, tomorrow will be no different for us.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

No.

Can't be bothered any longer. All the lies and lack of integrity has worn me down. Worse than that is the massive chunk of the electorate that just don't care about all the sleaze. Sod 'em. Not my problem anymore, not in my name.

 

[clapham_gull]

Luckily easy for me, cos I live minutes away from the polling station.

I have my views, but would never align myself to a particular party or philosophy. London isn't like that anyway. It's more of a chief of staff, who is right for the moment and it many ways I've viewed it a "protest vote", either against the current Mayor or the party in power nationally at the time.

This year is very different.

From a completely non partisan perspective the polls are looking like a not particularly liked or disliked Mayor is going to walk away (after the second vote) with the largest majority in Mayoral history.

 

[Flex Your Head]

"Local elections tomorrow are you bothered ?"

It's hard to get enthused, but by not voting you might as well just say that you're happy with the current corrupt mob and the fiasco they've presided over.

 

[Seagull1989]

Probably a silly question but I’m Hove, I only have a voting card for a PCC, which I’m not too bothered about.

Why isn’t their a local election for Hove and why isn’t this held at the same time as other local elections ?

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Probably a silly question but I’m Hove, I only have a voting card for a PCC, which I’m not too bothered about.

Why isn’t their a local election for Hove and why isn’t this held at the same time as other local elections ?

Brighton and Hove City Council last held elections in 2019, and the next one is due in 2023. The council is unitary, so East Sussex County Council doesn't have any responsibility for Brighton and Hove, apart from the fire service, which I presume they fund jointly. Sussex Police still covers the whole of East and West Sussex, as well as Brighton and Hove, so you get a vote for the Police and Crime Commissioner.

 

[Sid in the Sharknado]

Well I'll be voting anyway.

 

[Eeyore]

PCC election. The one I always spoil my ballot paper for.

This year I'm writing 'Jackie Weaver' on it.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

No.

Can't be bothered any longer. All the lies and lack of integrity has worn me down. Worse than that is the massive chunk of the electorate that just don't care about all the sleaze. Sod 'em. Not my problem anymore, not in my name.

Its LOCAL elections, its a vote on the performance on how you think your local council has performed and will perform.
The amount of people who vote based on Westminster is baffling.
But media also sees it as an indication of how the Westminster parties are doing too.
I could quite easily vote for a different party locally than I would in a GE depending on many different local matters.
Having said all that the councils in my home city over 20 years have been shocking and would struggle to run a cake stall, neither Tory or Labour deserve my vote so I shall look elsewhere, but dont forget that if your council has been poor, take into consideration that the Tories slashed their budgets but it has more to do with what they did do with the money they had.
Whoever does well locally will be seen as a vote for Starmer or Johnson, why is this?

 

[clapham_gull]

Its LOCAL elections, its a vote on the performance on how you think your local council has performed and will perform.
The amount of people who vote based on Westminster is baffling.
But media also sees it as an indication of how the Westminster parties are doing too.
I could quite easily vote for a different party locally than I would in a GE depending on many different local matters.
Having said all that the councils in my home city over 20 years have been shocking and would struggle to run a cake stall, neither Tory or Labour deserve my vote so I shall look elsewhere, but dont forget that if your council has been poor, take into consideration that the Tories slashed their budgets but it has more to do with what they did do with the money they had.
Whoever does well locally will be seen as a vote for Starmer or Johnson, why is this?

That's my take on it. You get the opportunity to decide the political make up of your local political servants that are responsible for things like taking your rubbish away.

Luckily up here we have a first and second choice for Mayor too, which gives the winner (usually) a proper mandate and majority.

A simple tweek to first past the post. They are so many inconsequential votes in general elections and I'm not talking about or an advocate for PR.

In a GE, the losers votes effectively go in the bin, but as do any votes the winner gets beyond the "one more" they need above any other.

45% or 70% percent make zero difference to your "mandate" if you win.

 

[Steve Foster]

Labour deserve everything they're about to get. Between 10 - 17% behind the Tories in the polls. They betrayed the British public over Brexit and have abandoned their traditional working class voters with their woke, anti British policies. Starmer is as useless as his predecessor. We need an opposition Party but Labour are not up to the job. They are unelectable. Hartlepool will go blue & the Tories will win more council seats. Locally we have council elections in Patcham & Hollingbury. The current council is not fit & proper - I hope residents here will make the right choices.

 

[Brovion]

Being a misanthropic old git I think I hate my fellow voters as much as I hate politicians. These are LOCAL elections, you vote for the people you think will be the best councillors looking after your local amenities and dealing with your local concerns. But will people do that? Oh no. Local elections are treated as giant opinion polls for the government in Westminster and you'll hear comments like "I think Boris Johnson is a prat so I'm not voting for a local Tory".

I accept that party labels give you a broad guide as to what type of councillor you'll be voting for - but that's all they are. Unlike MPs who are largely lobby fodder, councillors can make a difference locally, and national party allegiance is no guide to competence. Some time ago the Lib-Dems had a really good reputation for running local councils, and people would vote for them locally whilst voting Labour or Conservative nationally.

So I'm not sure who to vote for as I want to vote for the person not the party. If I can't decide I'll ignore my own advice and vote for the Socialist! (Shan't vote in the PCC election though).

 

[Goldstone1976]

We moved into our new gaff last August. We’ve been visited by two candidates.

The Tory:

‘I assume you’ll be voting for me’
‘Why do you make that assumption?’
‘You live in the type of house that suggests you would’ (yep, honestly)
‘ok mate’

The Lib Dem

‘Hi. Welcome to the area. I’ve been your Councillor for 12 years. We haven’t got everything right, but I like to think we’ve got more right than wrong’.
‘Tell me about a couple of your failures and how you plan to rectify them’
He did.

I’ll be voting. I always do; I see it as a duty.

I know little about local politics (my bad, I know), so I’ll be voting based on:

1. Eliminating candidates who couldn’t be arsed to contact me
2. Voting for the candidate who impressed me most when they visited.

Tough call.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Its LOCAL elections, its a vote on the performance on how you think your local council has performed and will perform.
The amount of people who vote based on Westminster is baffling.
But media also sees it as an indication of how the Westminster parties are doing too.
I could quite easily vote for a different party locally than I would in a GE depending on many different local matters.
Having said all that the councils in my home city over 20 years have been shocking and would struggle to run a cake stall, neither Tory or Labour deserve my vote so I shall look elsewhere, but dont forget that if your council has been poor, take into consideration that the Tories slashed their budgets but it has more to do with what they did do with the money they had.
Whoever does well locally will be seen as a vote for Starmer or Johnson, why is this?

I'm done with all voting now. Stepping outside of democracy as my protest against the current blight of cronyism and sleaze to become a 'did not vote' statistic.

If there ever comes a time when resignations for poor behaviour restart then I'll be back. When honesty and integrity matter again.

 

[el punal]

You've clearly never lived abroad. Its (largely) a mentality of 'I'll make my shit someone else's problem' from a certain small % of individuals across most countries. Yes there are exceptions, but most countries, unfortunately.

And most countries have the same issue with funding and local councils etc too.
We aren't unique.

But no, I'm not really bothered about the local elections

A few years ago I visited my daughter who was working in Vienna. Now Vienna is a beautiful city but absolutely spoiled by mindless graffiti everywhere - doors, walls, shop windows, statues, peoples’ flats and houses and even along the embankment of the Danube.

When I commented on this she explained that the local authorities considered graffiti to be art and so any culprits are never prosecuted or punished and therefore allowed to carry on regardless.

Art? My arse!

 

[Happy Exile]

I think part of the challenge with local elections is that parties as well as ordinary people and the press interpret it as a big poll on Westminster. Even if the local Tory was the best candidate I could never vote for them in the knowledge it'd be seen as support for the current government. As only the Greens and Lib Dems made an effort to tell me what they stand for locally thankfully that's not a dilemma I have to face.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Voting in the PCC election just so the Greens don’t lose their deposit.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I always vote in local council elections and the GEs. BUT today I only have a vote in the PCC election. An election that makes the head of Sussex police a political appointee which is wrong. It should be filled using the old method of a panel of multi-party local councillors not voted on based on which party the candidate is representing. To take it a step further - candidates should have to have served in the force previously. So I won't be voting because I don't agree with the system.

 

[SAC]

My first postal vote this year, I miss going to the polling station but thought it was the right decision at the time.

As often as not, it's voting against a candidate but the working classes fought hard for the vote so it's our duty to get out and vote.