If You’ve Never Voted In The Local Elections Before, Here’s Why You Should

Without the big televised leadership debates, slanderous political headlines and hyped-up manifesto reveals, it’s no wonder the local elections pass some of us by without much fanfare.

The General Elections are where the money is spent, the leaflets are flashy and hopes for a new, improved government (or a stable, continuous one, depending on which way you vote) run high. Almost as high as hopes a photograph might emerge of a politician eating some sort of civilian food in the manner of an extraterrestrial:

However, voting in the local elections – in which you vote for council representatives affiliated with a political party or standing independently – will arguably have a more immediate impact on your day-to-day life.

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Local government today comprises of 375 councils in England and Wales, with almost 18,500 elected councillors. In general, councils provide over 700 different services.

Here’s a quick check-list of just some of the things local councils do for you:

• Public health and services

• Local transport

• Council housing

• Education services

• Libraries

• Parks and public places

• Disability and elderly care services

• Community safety

• Environmental health

• Waste and recycling (yes, the bins!)

• Leisure and recreational facilities

• Regulation and tax of local businesses

• Children’s social services

• Roads and footpath

The candidates standing for local election will have different ideas and views on how these things in your local area should be run, how much money should be given to different services and even if services should be cut.

They might have ideas about privatising local services or selling off local property to private investors. They may believe that community safety is more important than environmental health or endorse increasing funding to public health services.

To find out who is running for election in your area, head to the Government’s YourVoteMatters.co.uk website to find your local authority. From there, you can research your local candidates, read their arguments and pledges and decide who best deserves your vote.

If you haven’t registered to vote already, you have until Tuesday 17th of April to do so. Click here to get the ball rolling.

The elections themselves take place on Thursday 3 May, so if you want a say in how your neighborhood is run, do your civic duty and make sure you turn out to vote.

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.