Local election crucial to democracy, says Herts politics expert

As election counts are underway after voters in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire took to the polls yesterday, a politics expert is telling us their importance is often overlooked.

Despite their direct influence on day-to-day services such as waste collection, education, and social care, these elections continue to see significantly lower turnout compared to general elections.

Participation is typically low, with turnout in some areas unlikely to exceed 30–35%.

Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Ben Nutt, said: "The importance of holding elections stems from the roots of democracy.

"I think local elections really kind of symbolise the fact that people have the opportunity to vote for decision makers effectively, who make quite important decisions about their local area, and it's always a surprising anomaly within political science that local elections aren't perhaps taken more seriously."

Importance of local councils

Local councils are responsible for delivering key services, but they often suffer from a perception problem.

Local services are of great concern to residents, but the councils managing them are often overlooked.

This paradox exists even as national governments promote further devolution and delegate additional powers to local authorities.

Efforts to boost turnout by aligning local and general elections have yielded some success in the past. But while synchronising elections could elevate their visibility, it could also risk overshadowing local issues with national narratives.

Professor Nutt suggested an alternative in which they could be staggered like mid-term elections, similar to the US system, which could attract greater attention.

Still, this approach carries its own risks, including the potential for local contests to serve as unofficial referendums on the national government.

Political ideologies and council majorities

Pr Nutt suggested that while ideological differences may have limited relevance in everyday council matters, party labels still matter.

"They have some form of group unity to make decision making easier" and voters often rely on party affiliation as a shortcut when choosing among candidates.

However, he acknowledged that major policy changes—such as those proposed by parties like Reform UK—often fall outside the remit of local authorities.

He said: "Most of their policies are aimed at the kind of level of change in immigration policy, changing taxation rates. They’re not going to have that kind of matter."

Even when councils change political hands, the ability to enact significant changes is often constrained by prior budgets and long-term infrastructure commitments, often taking years for a new political majority to put their own stamp on things.

With a general election last year which saw disillusionment toward the Conservative Party, today's results will be watched closely, particularly to evaluate the performance of the Labour Party.

Pr Nutt added that while Labour continues to poll ahead of its rivals, the party's lead has narrowed since last year.