Could Labour emerge as a clear winner in the local elections?
Chris Games sees clear advantages for the party in the near-forgotten local government elections Can you imagine: New Labour, never knowingly underspun, missing a chance to spin any set of election results, let alone a favourable set? Hard to believe, yet it might just happen with this year’s near-forgotten local elections. The 2007 Councillors Commission felt strongly that Prime Ministers’ recent habit of picking local election days for their General Elections was one more demonstration of their disregard for local government and local democracy. Local elections need a higher, not lower, profile. First, therefore, we should remove the confusion from the present electoral cycle. London boroughs elect all their councillors in one go every four years – this year. County councils did likewise last year, following a campaign similarly overshadowed by the Euro-elections. But metropolitan boroughs like Birmingham elect their councillors by thirds, with elections in three years out of four.
