Will national politics influence how you vote in the local elections this week?

[CormoranStrike]

I ask this as the Conservatives had a stall in a town I was in today, Scottish, but affluent, with a couple of Tory councillors, but nobody was engaging at all with the six blue jacketed members at the stall.

I’ve no intention of voting Tory anyway, not my party of choice locally or nationally, but if I were I would be protest voting for anyone but them this Thursday.

I am sick of the constant sneeze, lies and lack of accountability - I cannot see how anyone could vote conservative currently.

Hah, sleaze, not sneeze.

A bit of both in my case. I never vote Conservative so them having a man leading them who is a misogynist and in my opinion by his inactions over Covid 19 the second greatest killer of British people on British soil after the Nazis makes no difference. They mismanage my local council too though I expect it to remain a Tory Council.

No

Our council tax is substantially lower than neighbouring boroughs and council services much the same. I'm voting to keep it that way

We have an absolutely fab local Councillor. Really fab. He left the Tories and went independent many years ago now but if he were still Tory I'd find it hard not to vote for him. Him only. I guess the fact he left them 10 years or so ago speak volumes anyway!

In all other elections I wouldn't come near voting Tory with a bargepole.

We got the pamphlet today and I am interested in their policies first

Only annoying thing is a like some from a few parties but not all from any

re national level I care v much about one issue which will be in the mix too

One of my favourite local candidates was with a party I wasn’t a big fan of, but would have overlooked for her. She’s just gone independent too, hurrah!

I will be voting Conservative and so will DH and DS. They have fairly safe seat where I live anyway.

No. Locally Labour has absolutely fucked over our city. I'm voting strategically to push them out.

No. Labour has really bent my county over and funked us. We have disgustingly high council tax in a completely average Welsh town where there are many living on the bread line. Their corruption is so well documented I don't understand how there hasn't been arrests and overall I'm surprised the councillors walk around without private security.

They'll probably get back in solely by being Labour

No.
Despite what seems like the majority of the media trying to imply that local council elections are about what the National Government are / are not doing.

This is an election for local councillors and about local services.

It's a local election so I'm voting for local candidates on local issues.

When general/ local elections co-incide, I'll often vote for different parties in the same day.

It already has. I sent my postal vote back last week and voted LibDem in the absence of any Labour candidates. Our Tory council is a waste of oxygen. Its greedy parking charges are killing the three town centres in its remit and the services are generally appalling.

DH and I have both been talking about this recently as we feel a bit unsure. We're both Labour supporters but our local councillors are Tory. Apparently last year there were only 50 votes between Labour and Conservative so a close call. We both agree that the lead councillor is proactive and very much puts herself at the heart of the village that we live in. However I believe I will still vote Labour as 1) I'd ethically struggle to vote for a candidate whose associated party I don't align with on a values level, 2) She is seemingly very proactive about issues, although arguably these are all issues that she personally benefits from resolving ie playground equipment when she has grandkids here, getting funding sorted for the church she attends or getting the road she lives on resurfaced etc and 3) As I haven't seen what the Labour councillors would bring to the role I don't have any reason to believe that they wouldn't also be proactive. DH is less decided at this time.

Our local councillor is a lib dem and has been pretty proactive however he is retiring but I'll probably still vote for his replacement. Our town is a shit hole. Used to be labour dominated now a huge mixture of independents, tory, lab and lib dem. No levelling up policies on the horizon. Labour council was hamstrung because of austerity but also complacent, tories no better just slicker. Big vocal element of red wall brexity types who hate labour and are tory apologists so not got a clue what will happen. Either way doubt we'll see any great improvement to the town.

100%. My local Tory councillor is actually ok, but in order to send a very clear message to the Govt people need to stop voting Tory. It’s the only way the clear out the dead wood on the front benches.

My Tory councillor is really involved and works hard to make my area nice. Why would a birthday party in Westminster make me stop voting for someone doing a good job?

I'm voting Green because the candidate is a friend who i trust, she's incredibly proactive and imaginative in getting things done. The local Labour Council has got a bit sclerotic in my view although it will be ok if the councillor wins yet again.

I think this is a bit of privileged thinking when you have some local canditate literally crippling the local economy and directly contributing to individuals poverty.

This.
This week, I am voting to choose Councillors for the City I live in, not members of Parliament

My local Tory councillor is actually ok, but in order to send a very clear message to the Govt people need to stop voting Tory

This doesn't make sense. It isn't sending a message to anyone as this isn't a vote for MPs.

Like a pp who said they voted for candidates from different parties on the same day, I think everyone should consider the issues that the person they are voting for can influence. Local Council elections have nothing to do with what the incumbent Government are doing internationally or nationally.

Local Council elections have nothing to do with what the incumbent Government are doing internationally or nationally

Of course they do. Local elections are barometers, that’s why the government is running scared of the local results. As @SirChenjins says, it sends a message.

Of course

Of course it makes sense. Whilst it’s obviously not a vote for MPs they will be watching the results very carefully - these elections act as a barometer for public opinion.

I agree - and I have never, and will never vote for anyone who represents the Tory party. When I say he’s ok I meant as a person - I know him through some voluntary work I do.

Having spent my whole life so far living in safe Tory seats at all levels of politics, I now live in an area which has Lib Dem councillors (although the constituency is very Tory still). So the vote will make a difference. However, it’s only the LDs that can beat the Tories, any votes for Labour or Greens will (probably) split the LD vote and they would probably get the Tories in. Certainly the Greens are campaigning v v hard here, and the candidate lives on my road. I wonder how much this is repeated nationally.

In terms of my own vote, locally I’m a single issue floating voter (Women’s rights). I’ve grilled most of the candidates as they’ve knocked on the door. I suppose it’s a national issue but it’s more about it being fed back to the central parties.

'Birthday party in Westminster ?'

Probably the greatest bit of minimising of MULTIPLE criminal offences committed by our prime minister and his cabinet. !

If you TRULY believe this is about the one minor transgression around the cabinet office birthday party then you are either staggeringly naive or are someone who blindly follows an ideology without care for the moral turpitude of the figure head of that ideology.

If however you had managed to work out that the information from the police investigation and Sue Gray report has been deliberately staged managed - to release the most benign aspects of the scandal (cabinet party) - whilst leaving the most damaging details until after the election .

Then you are probably smart enough to vote in such a way that sends a message to this corrupt, sleazy, misogynistic bunch .

This is VERY MUCH about national issues . It's the 'halfway barometer' of how the government of the day is doing. It tells them to keep doing what they are doing or to change their ways.

I voted for Johnson . (Refuse to call him Boris and play into his 'lovable buffoon cult) . The biggest most embarrassing mistake of my political life.

I will be voting tactically for whichever party /independent can get the Tories out and send that message about just how disgusting their behaviour has been.