AIBU in thinking local issues are also important in General Elections

[RedToothBrush]

I live in a key marginal Constituency and am a swing voter. In the past I've decided which way to vote based on the national picture AND local issues.

However this election, despite being bombarded by more leaflets than I care to count by the two main parties, only one of them has sent me anything related to local issues.

I feel incredibly disappointed that, in the desperation of trying to win my vote, one party has completely neglected that they are supposed to be representing me at a local level too. I think this is a massive lost opportunity for the area and makes me question the local candidate and just how much they are interested in the area rather than their career as a politician.

I think its likely to tip the balance for me, to vote in a particular direction, towards the party that has shown interest beyond putting one of their bums on a bench.

How important are local issues to you in general elections and do they influence your vote at all?

For local issues, I look to my councillors. And MP as a relatively modest influence. Yes, they can work with businesses to encourage investment in an area, as that's independent of council matters, and they can make representations to councils eg regarding housing or education, but they don't get the final say.

That said, I do expect a basic understanding of the area. It's hard to take seriously someone who might have visited once.

I expect them to know the area, but I would never vote on the basis of local issues, unless I thought that national policy was going to have a major impact on those issues, and that the issues in question were incredibly important. In practice, though, I can't think of a single scenario in which a purely local issue would be more important than national issues such as the economy, health, education etc.

yabu, I hate it when MPs get involved with very local issues, unless it takes national funding or policy to resolve.

Well if you need more schools in your area, or they want to concrete over the countryside to build a new town, those local issues are pretty important and are down to national policy. So local issues do have a direct influence on the way I vote. And although councils levy council tax, they also depend on a grant from central government so if that is cut, that affects services in my area.

Depends what you mean by 'local issues', but I would expect them to be dealt with by Local Councils.
I vote in a general election for whole Counry issues / governance, although i would expect our local MP to speak up as appropriate to put the voice of this area in Parliament.

I can't put much between the two at the moment. I genuinely think its six of one and half a dozen of the other. We (as a country) won't 'win' with either party. And this is my trouble.