The Crisis of Local Government!

Tameside Labour celebrate their success in the 2011 Local Elections.

By May 2014, Labour will have been the dominant political party on Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council for 35 years. Of course, the Labour Party will say that this success has been due solely to their constant hard work and commitment - to being "community campaigners" who are always "on your side" with "a strong local voice".

Yet, in an era when local government is dominated by national political parties ultimately controlled from London, there has been very little or no real opposition to Labour's control of Tameside. This is because rival political parties only put up a strong fight in any borough where they know they have a chance of winning!

The Conservatives try instead to hold on to their dwindling number of seats in Tameside, whilst concentrating most of their local resources into keeping control of Trafford Council or in attempting to win control of Bolton or Bury Councils. Labour would adopt the same strategy in respect of many Tory controlled areas in other parts of the country.

The Liberal Democrats focus on areas like Stockport, Oldham or Rochdale and have not even had a candidate for any seats in Tameside since 2010.

Other parties seek a breakthrough by winning a "target seat" on a council - anywhere - that will also help to raise the profile of the national party. If this means however, that the best chance of winning that particular seat happens to be in Manchester or Salford or some other borough, then that is where the leaflets and other resources will go.

Tameside Labour therefore can just concentrate on getting their own supporters out to vote in every election - which, combined with the lack of campaigning by the other parties and apathy from the rest of the local community, virtually ensures that their councillors are continually re-elected.

That is the unfortunate reality of "modern" local politics. It explains why, in many areas across Tameside and elsewhere across the entire country, there are very few genuinely contested elections; why the party in power can remain so dominant and why - over time - this dominant party can become so complacent and unresponsive to the views of the voters?

Elected councillors can remain in office for decades; get their husbands, wives or partners elected to the council and are actually more afraid of their own party than they are of the people who elect them. They take decisions based on party interest rather than responding to the wishes of the local community.

People become uninterested, regarding voting as a waste of time - as nothing ever seems to change and no party actually listens to them - and the numbers of those who vote continue to decline. Perhaps, the most dangerous consequence for democracy is that more and more of the new generation of young people - taking their lead from their parents and grandparents - have never voted and have no intention of doing so in the future!

It does not matter how we elect our politicians - either through "first past the post" or by some form of proportional representation - if parties see no point in campaigning and people see no point in voting.

This is why there MUST be changes in the way we conduct local elections in the 21st century.

There are enormous advantages in having all local councillors elected at the same time, every time:

• People will know that they could change their council in just one election. 
• All political parties will know that they could take control of the council in just one election if they do put in the effort to campaign.
• The political party in power will know that they must take into account the views of all the electorate as they could lose control of the council in just one election.

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/one-election-for-all-local-councillors?source=facebook-share-button&time=1384131840

This is not about party politics and not about giving or taking away party political advantages. If Tameside Labour are the great council they claim to be, then they should have no fear of the local electorate and will be returned to power on their record in local government.

What surprises me however, is how such a "great democratic party of the people" as Labour can continue to maintain the kind of elections where, even if every single person in Tameside voted - Labour would still "win" the election. That, in my opinion, is the type of election that any fascist or communist dictator would be proud of having!


Carl Simmons
Denton South Independent
24th November 2013