Local elections
The problem with polls
Local government has finally learned that two years’ worth of elections will take place on ‘Super Thursday’ 6 May, with a ‘high bar’ for any delay. Martin Ford talks to the sector about the challenges ahead.
Guidance issued on school polling stations
Returning officers have been told schools used as polling stations should be given back for teaching the next day.
Election funds 'not enough'
Government funding for running elections under pandemic restrictions does not go far enough, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
Councils call for ‘assurance’ on elections
Officers handed the task of holding elections during a pandemic have appealed for more help from Whitehall.
Don’t make local elections yet another COVID victim
As we have seen elsewhere, local elections can and have taken place in COVID times, says Professor Colin Copus.
Will May be a missed chance?
The Prime Minister wants the elections to go ahead. But Dr Jonathan Carr-West says that whether a U-turn ‘has already happened or is still to come, we have missed an opportunity to make an early and clear decision’.
Jenrick tells leaders to prepare for May elections
Council leaders have urged the Government to reconsider pressing ahead with local elections in May.
May elections to go ahead as chiefs call for indemnity
Local elections will go ahead on 6 May despite the ongoing pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled.
Council elections must be set aside until the autumn at least
In the midst of the pandemic, postponing the local elections until the autumn/winter ‘would be the sensible, moral, safe thing to do,' says Paul Shevlin.
Government moots plans to postpone polls again
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick pushing the Prime Minister for a quick decision on postponing elections, The MJ understands.
Call for ‘urgent clarity’ on elections
Speculation over whether local elections will take place in May as scheduled has been labelled ‘unhelpful’ by councils.
Proportional votes to come to Wales
Proportional voting will be introduced to Welsh council elections for the first time as the franchise is extended to 16- and 17-year olds and foreigners.
We’ve made strategic errors on UK elections
Election counts need more speed and spectacle for democracy to survive the Trump effect, argues Mike Bennett. We need to ‘put purpose before process’.
'Rising star' to get new chief executive position
Cotswold DC is expected to appoint ‘a rising star in local government’ as it brings back its chief executive position.
Is it time for elective surgery?
A move to an increasingly or even completely postal-based vote is one possible solution to the problem of a COVID-19 local election, argues leader of South Tyneside MBC Cllr Iain Malcolm.
Mayor anticipates Covid-19 election disruption
London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged voters in the capital to register for postal ballots ahead of next year’s elections to avoid disruption from the Covid-19 crisis.
EXCLUSIVE: 'Make local elections a "mini-referendum" on fair funding'
The main parties at the Local Government Association could turn next year’s local elections into a ‘mini referendum on fair funding for all councils’, according to the director of the Political Skills Forum.
Local government can look for powerful allies
Winston Churchill famously remarked ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste’. Paul Wheeler says we should use this current one to rebuild a local government that is properly funded, ambitious and a strong advocate for localities.
New review to look at regulation of political finance
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is reviewing electoral regulation and wishes to hear from anyone with experience or views on the regulation of party finance, says Lord Jonathan Evans.
Lords postal votes criticism rejected
Civil servants have defended the postal votes system in the face of criticism from Lords.
