Who should I vote for in local elections?

[PrincessOfPreschool]

Always been a heavily Conservative area - both council and MP. It does have a history of BNP presence a long time ago, and is the area of the immigrant hotel protests. My vote (Labour, lib dem or independent) is essentially wasted each time both locally and nationally.

But this time I'm in a predicament... Reform are hammering the area. We've had the bus, posters, a letter sent to the voters in our household (nothing from anyone else), Reform 'supporters' spamming the local Facebook groups. It will definitely be a Conservative/ Reform race. I'm struggling to vote Conservative but I would do anything to keep Reform out. So do I just chuck my vote out on something 'reasonable' (prob lib dem as they used to be second by a long margin)? Or do I block Reform with a conservative vote? WWYD if you have politics sympathetic to mine?

Do you like your Council and councillors? If so, vote for them again, especially if it is also a tactical move against Reform? That is what I would do.
Did they make any effort in recent weeks to fill pot holes etc in your area? If they did, they probably deserve your vote.

It is also perfectly OK to vote one way in local elections and another way in general. Most people are limited locally and often prefer the status quo in uncertain times (as long as happy with it, on the whole).

I have this dilemma. I am going to vote for Plaid Cymru tactically, but I have never wanted to vote for them in my life so it stings a bit.

The other consideration is that the Reform campaign might split the usually-tory cohort, meaning the normally-second option sneaks in with a win. So I would probably go for lib dems in your case!

That is very true. I hadn't thought of that.

They should've made a bit more effort then... Not seen a lot at all.

Whoever has a good track record of backing policies that help the most vunerable of society.

Will house prices in some areas go down if Reform get in? Or even Green?

Vote tactically to prevent reform (they are Tories anyway )

WWYD if you have politics sympathetic to mine?

Educate myself?

I've just voted (postal vote).
I've voted Labour (I am not happy with the labour government and in a national election would not want to vote for them) locally they are ok and I think we need stability which is what they would bring.
The local polls show it will be labour or reform and I am voting to keep reform out.
I'm a big believer in voting differently in local and national elections. Reform seems to think I'm voting on national issues with all the leaflets they've sent featuring nigel and national issues. Which concerns me that thats what some will think we're voting for.

You can of course also split your crosses…
One of my friends is a Councillor so had to vote for him in my most recent postal ballot. Other two crosses went with the people I liked the look of mostly.

The Green Party councillors in my area have largely stated their exact addresses. Which is a little unusual in these times as most other parties have opted out of listing their exact address.

Vote for anyone who says they are interested in local issues, if there are any.

How would that work then ?

Politics is one of those subjects that there is no absolute correct ideology.

It's astonishing that there are terrorist attacks every day in the UK, particularly against Jewish people.

Just today the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light site in Crewe was raided by 500 police officers, and several people have been arrested on suspicion of rape, modern slavery and forced marriage.

And there are people on here saying 'Who can I vote for who will give us more of this?'

I fail to see any connection really. This is local elections.

I have never considered voting Tory in my life before, and honestly never thought I would, but I would absolutely consider voting Tory if I believed that it was the best chance of keeping Reform out of power.

However, it would ultimately depend on the actual Tory candidates. Moderate Tory? Yes, they would get my vote in order to keep Reform out. Very right wing Reform-lite Tory? No, that would be a step too far and I would rather accept that my vote would be wasted.

My friend who is already a Councillor is still a Consultant on the NHS. And is standing Tory, but is not a full on Tory style MP. A lot of Councillors do it as a semi voluntary thing to give back to their community, doing 20 hours as so a week, with small salary and little real prestige. It is completely different from central government stuff.

Also, it is usually quite obvious who is doing it largely to give back to their community primarily and get involved vs those who are standing primarily as a stepping stone into central government politics later on. Obviously, if there are lots of Reform style ones in that camp, avoid at all cost.

I think PAT is saying 'vote Reform'

Ofcourse one only has to look at Kent to see how well that is working out.

I'm in an area that has traditionally been Tory with a few Lib dems and one or two independents. There is a swing to the right with Reform growing in popularity. I'd like to vote Lib Dem but fear this would be a wasted vote.
Our local councillor is Tory but has always been very effective and proactive so I might vote for him as an individual.

It isn't an easy one.

Road surfaces, potholes are a danger to motorbikes and cycles. Does your Council fix what they can?
Traffic Management, LTNs, Buses, Can you get to hospital by bus.
Which party helps you? Which doesn't. I am not in favour of 'tactical voting'.

it is usually quite obvious who is doing it largely to give back to their community primarily and get involved vs those who are standing primarily as a stepping stone into central government politics

This is a great point. I would love a brief summary on all candidates. Is it possible to get this? A bit like when you vote for a parent governor and they give you a little spiel about themselves and their interests in the school.

Yes, all the 'local' Reform stuff has been about immigration and has Farage's face all over it. Really nothing to do with local council but I'm sure many will fall for it. People are annoyed with Conservatives as we've just had big changes to our bins, which everyone is moaning about, just before elections which wasn't too clever.

Your local council is very much involved in the immigration issue.

If the Home Office decides that a migrant hotel will be opening in your area, it'll be the council that has to decide whether to take legal action to block this.

For the migrants that are there, the council provides care, accommodation and support for child migrants and all asylum seekers with specific needs, housing, integration support, English lessons etc for people granted refugee status, education, health access, language support and community cohesion work for all migrants, and will decide whether refugees get council housing.

It's really not that surprising that Reform are mentioning this in their election literature given that it's voters' number one issue (or second to the economy).

Racists will vote for Reform, that is a given

Just hope that your Reform council will not waste money on flags