With local elections coming up, will you vote and why?

Yes, I will vote as we are privileged to live in a democracy, and an age where we are allowed to vote. I consider it incredibly important that we all ALWAYS vote.

I get cross with people who say 'there is no point', when of course there is a point, when in many cases if everyone who didn't vote, had voted, it could completely change who gets elected.

I will be voting for our current local Cllr who is a very good listener and who represents us very well.

I also get cross when mainstream media - including Clive Myree at the head of tonight's news programme - state that this is the 'biggest test of opinion since the General Election' when this vote has nothing to do with the National Government and is about who will best represent their constituents on the local Council.

I always vote, and have already voted this time (postal vote) for our local Ward Councillor. I genuinely don’t care which party he represents (although I’m so relieved it isn’t Reform); he has been a fantastic Councillor, and has done so many positive things for the local community.

I always vote. This year it will be independent. Can’t stand Labour in the current form

I shall be voting, my grandmothers' generation fought hard to win votes for women. There is family jewellery in suffragette colours, which was bought as 21st birthday presents. I believe that it is our civic duty to vote and that it should be mandatory.
I shall be voting for experienced effective local councillors who have done a good job previously. Hopefully the useless incumbent will lose the seat. In these elections, I am far more concerned with local issues such as potholes and uncollected rubbish than National issues. I most certainly won't be voting Reform.

I’m voting this year, for reform

I always vote but I've had feck all communication from any of the candidates bar the Reform wazzock and I've trawled our council website and can't find a single piece of information about any of the other candidates. No idea who is standing or what they stand for.

Yes I will vote.

I'll vote tactically to try to keep Reform out which, where I live, means voting Tory.

However the local Tory councilor has been effective and hard working over the last few years so I'm ok with that.

I will vote, I always do.

Our local (Conservative majority) council nearly went bankrupt and haas to be bailed out by the government recently. There is a fair amount of dissatisfaction with the council but I am consulting voting for them because I do not want Reform.

I will vote tactically to oust Labour from our area.

Our local councillors do a great job, so although I’d never vote for their party nationally, they’ll get my vote. Terrified of Reform getting in, and it could be NOC here.
Can 16/17 year olds vote in this one?

I have already voted. Labour. They’ve done a reasonably good job running my council which is at risk of falling into no overall control with a Reform presence. My ward is a straight Labour/Green fight.

Greens are already jointly in charge of my local council and they are campaigning really hard, I’ve had different flyers for the Green Party put through my door 3 times over the last week, none from any other party and I will vote green to stop Reform getting in which, as I live in an area of high deprivation, seems to have a lot of support around here.

I’m voting tactically to try and keep Reform off my council. That will be Lib Dem here, but that’s largely irrelevant - I’m voting “not Reform”.

Council decisions are incredibly boring for posturing candidates.

We currently have a conservative (woman) council who ably manage elderly care /waste disposal/ pot holes/ planning etc.

The likely takeover is Reform and I feel it will be a lot of posturing men who don’t actually do anything other than talk about it.

Just my opinion

Hope everyone gets whatever is best for them locally

I always vote and have only ever voted Labour.
I doubt this will change.

I'll be voting Labour and yes, I always vote.

Will be a first time lib dem voter, Ive always voted labour and kind of expected so much from them I was too young to vote in 1997 but remember that feel good factor in 1997,sadly this time around it's not lived up to the hype and labour have been shocking, plus lib dems always seem good on local issues

Same here
The same people who are vocal about Reform are the same ones banging on about protecting the NHS and their right to march to show their Englishness.

Same. Our three incumbent ward councillors are all LibDem and they do a good job. There’s no reason to change.

Our council is very complacent. Conservative with the odd Lib Dem.
I shall be voting but not sure who for yet.

It won’t be Green. My DS has joined and we have a nice big sign outside. Someone still posted a leaflet through. Not terribly bright and obviously a waste of a paper.

As women chained themselves to railings, were imprisoned and threw themselves under horses so we could have the vote, of course I will vote - I’ve never missed. I shall vote Reform because without them, I wouldn’t be able to vote at all this time around - this would have been for the second year. Labour was more than happy to deny us democracy, and the Conservatives did nothing to oppose it. What I shall vote in the next General election remains to be seen.

I won't because I am working the elections and left it too late to set up a postal vote. It's the first time I haven't voted, but also the first time I feel that not voting makes just as much of a statement.

I won’t be voting. I truly don’t believe there is a jot of difference between them & I can use the hour it’d take me far more productively to have a positive impact on my family and community.

I always vote. I'm voting for my current (conservative) counsellor, who has been doing a good job in my area for years now. I also don't want to vote in someone as a protest who doesn't bother or messes things up locally.

I’ll vote Lib Dem because they are strong round here and they’re a group of well organised, competent people who are good at local services. No point using the locals to send a message and then end up with useless people who don’t want to do the hard, boring work of being councillors.