Council Elections

[OneTealShaker]

The first declared seats going to Reform.

Reform +2
Labour -1

Buckle up people.

It is rather odd to vote in a local council election based on a national issue (immigration). These councillors who are being elected this week have absolutely nothing to do with and no influence on immigration policy.

If you're voting locally based on national issues I might not call you stupid but I might say it's a tad misinformed.

A dress rehearsal perhaps?

What are you talking about? How does this post full of rambling lecturing help anyone?

And what is this 'hmph we shouldn't let stupid people vote' rhetoric?

Of course there are varying levels of intelligence, and 50% of people will always be below average intelligence. That is how that works. Do those people not deserve a democratic vote? Are they not human?

If 'intelligent' people are failing to reach them, or are incapable of actually trying to find common ground, who is really at fault?

If these voters are really so thick that they can be easily influenced, why is your influence not working then?

one of the reasons why so many councils are going to 'no overall control' is because of the stupid rule that allows local authority elections to held 'by thirds'. The idea behind having only one third of a council's seats up for grabs each time is that it helps to maintain political stability but ultimately it's an insult to democracy. If people want change they should be able to vote for it.

LOL. Farages work experience student has gone feral on socials. Anyone who understands politics will know that local elections have never been considered a good indicator of GE success, notwithstanding that the GE is 3 years away, and assuming Reform gets its grubby and racist paws on more councils, it will have sufficient time to prove itself roundly incompetent.

Yes but you clearly don't understand, they are a populist party - that means they tell you exactly what you want to hear and they say it loudly. Just like good old Nige during Brexit with his bus telling everyone how many millions would be able to go to the NHS after Brexit. Just like Trump in the US telling everyone he's going to make America great again.

If you want your country to work you don't vote for people with no experience who don't know what they're doing just because they're saying all the things you want to hear.

There is the same attitude as Brexit because Brexit was/is a complete disaster and we're now scrabbling for closer ties. People believe the lies though because it's what they want to hear.

The reason council tax goes up so much every year is to pay for social care, we have an aging population, there are an increasing number of kids with SEN that need support. People want the roads fixed, they want frequent bin collections, they want buses for their kids to get to school, they want visible police but they don't want to pay for it and choices have to be made by any council. It doesn't matter who gets in, the budget is still the budget.

Just because someone promises you the world doesn't mean they're going to deliver any of it, but people fall for it every time.

This! ^

Reform are gaining seats but they are not gaining control. Labour aren't doing as badly as expected, and they've got two years to turn it back around – which they can do if they get rid of SKS and parachute Andy Burnham in.

All of those things happen in Lib Dem councils.

I think when it comes to GE’s, they lack ‘stature’ for the bigger stage. People trust them to get their bins emptied and fill potholes, but not to deal with people like Trump, for example. And the Lib Dem’s seem unwilling or unable to address this.

It is notable that in 2010 when they made it into coalition, they only did so off the back of ‘support’ from one of the main parties in the debates - remember ‘I agree with Nick’?

As someone who works in this space, including collaborating with a Chinese manufacturing business, it sounds as though your friend’s business are using net zero as an excuse @ViviousCurrentBun.

Sustainability measures that contribute to net zero are SAVING money on our overheads and making the business MORE financially sustainable. Our solar arrays, insulation and heat exchangers make our facility less dependent on and less exposed to price spikes in oil and gas. China have some of the biggest investments in the world in renewables and they fabricate this infrastructure domestically and very cheaply, so of course they can undercut the UK. They also pay workers less in China, although it’s not directly comparable since the factory we work with offer accommodation and other benefits on top of salary.

Some aspects of operating in the UK ARE a problem - employers national insurance increase, inadequate infrastructure, high business rates, land cost, sicker workers due to longer NHS waiting lists, etc.

For an increasing number of founders, it is not worth the hassle. If you’re close to retirement, it’s easier to scale down for an easier life and make redundancies. Blaming net zero allows owners to save face whilst their former workforce struggle.

I do actually have a bit of a soft spot for the Lib Dems, I don't actually know how good they'd be if they ever gained power mind you. I used to live in an LD constituency and the MP was always very good on local issues.

Interestingly the abolish net zero and bring back coal mining Reform party almost definitely do not give a shit about pollution.

Not really ..... from what i see and hear, people hate Starmer and have no trust in the Tories, after their awful 14years in power.

So why on earth would, people with these opinions, vote for either? they stay at home or vote for an alternative.

I said a year ago, Starmer should have resigned, WFA was an utter disaster, it made him and Labour look utterly incompetent & a bit of joke... its now all a bit late for Labour now, whatever they do.

He has done nothing to help ordinary people in their daily struggles, the increases in NMW barely match the super high inflation under the Conservatives, done nothing on Social Care, nothing on Dentistry, the money given to councils to fix roads was never ring fenced.... nothing on sewage, removed the £50 rebate people in the SW used to get for their (highest in the country) bills.

Very little Council housing built or planned, he has failed to get a grip on cross channel migration... the Renter Rights Act has led to more evictions, with no alternatives other than private rent.

Reform would never get in where we live in London, I was just answering the PP who said Reform spoke well on local issues on their doorstep and making the point that I can see why people would vote for them.

I didnt vote for reform. I live in an area with a labour council. They are doing a terrible job and would most certainly fall into your category of 'experienced councillor'

I totally agree with your suggestion of independent councillors - whatever gains or losses there are in these elections, the level of division at local level based on political affiliations doesn’t serve anyone in local communities well, and people should feel like they’ve had a chance to elect the person best for their local community.

I assure you, I understand all of that and I understand that the Green party is just as populist as reform.

I know people promise things without necessarily having the backup very tough decisions need to be made and somebody need to stand up and make them

That's such a load of rubbish, it really is.
People don't vote Reform because called stupid. They vote Reform because they're blaming everything on boats, which IS pretty stupid. It won't change their minds.

Spot on

Sadly, yes.

You couldn’t make this shit up. It’s like a comedy.

The problem is that the issues at a local
level cannot be sorted at a local level because of the current laws/rules from central government. For example local councils cannot change the ££££ paid to get SEND kids to school because they have to do it. So whoever gets in has their hands tied. Virtually all the money goes on fire fighting as the adult social care and SEND costs go through the roof. Reform will just start to highlight this and it will make Labour look even worse than they do now.

Yes but Reform isn't going to get us out of that decline. They're distracting us with immigration headline issues instead of the real ones. It's how the Nazis got in in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, Trump in America and 100s of other fascist and far-right parties throughout history. They don't campaign on real (boring) issues. Just fixate on 'other' scapegoat group of foreigners as people are apparently too stupid to digest dialogue on actual issues (the debt of Brexit and COVID, the unaffordability of the triple lock pension etc). We have a long list of un-sexy problems that need tackling and Reform don't have the experience or direction to do that.

I am ethnically Indian. It is quite depressing. A number of Reform candidates are openly racist. The hard fact is that a lot fo the electorate do not care. We are fast moving back to the1980s. Rights for gay people and ultimately women as a whole will follow at some point.

I think it's insulting to Reform voters to say it just comes down to the boats issue.

People are tired of two-party politics and how the shit show has just bounced back and forth between Labour and Tories for decades. They want change. They're desperate for it. Like him or loathe him, Farage has presented a plausible alternative to two-party politics and people like the fact he's shaking things up. Now Green are starting to do the same in other areas and with the youth vote.

It's not a one-policy issue.

Historically lot of people vote very differently in local elections. So we'll see.