VOTERS go to the polls this week to elect councillors and mayors in local elections dominated by one issue – Brexit. Here’s our guide to finding who’s standing in your area and where to cast your ballot. How do I find out who I can vote for in my area? You can find out who […]
VOTERS go to the polls this week to elect councillors and mayors in local elections dominated by one issue – Brexit.
Here’s our guide to finding who’s standing in your area and where to cast your ballot.
You can find out who is standing in your area by typing your postcode at the Your Vote Matters website.
It tells you which council ward you live in, with a list of all the people standing for election and which party they represent.
It does not say what their policies are or tell you who to vote for. That is up to you to decide.
Local branches of political parties are likely to have pushed election leaflets through your door setting out their priorities.
Many also have manifestos online.
If you are registered to vote you should have received a polling card in the post.
The card tells you the address of your nearest polling station, usually with a map.
You cannot vote at a different polling station so it is worthwhile checking in case your nearest has moved since the last election.
If you have lost your polling card, don’t worry – you can still vote without it.
Your local council will be able to tell you where to go to cast your ballot.
And the Your Vote Matters website also tells you the address of your polling station if you enter your postcode.
At the polling booth, carefully check the guidance on how to fill in the ballot paper (or papers if there is also a mayoral contest).
In some districts you may be allowed to vote for more than one candidate, but if you choose too many your vote may not be counted.
Polling station staff can help if you are unsure, but will only advise on how to vote – not who to vote for.
If you are registered for a postal vote but forgot to send it in time, it is not too late – you can take the postal form to a polling station or the town hall.
Certainly not the Conservatives at the way things are going.
Although pollsters don’t ask how people will be voting at local polls, the Tories’ ratings if there were another general election have dropped by around ten percentage points in the last month alone.
Labour has picked up a small part of the votes alongside smaller parties Change UK and Ukip.
ChangeUK isn’t standing candidates on Thursday but you can expect pro-Brexit party Ukip to hoover up some votes from frustrated Tories.
However, Ukip has pushed to the right in recent months and could put more moderate Brexiteers off giving them their vote.
The Tories been being squeezed in the polls by the Brexit Party, but they aren’t standing in the locals, and are focusing on the EU poll next month instead.
Many Brits might not turn out to vote at all out of total frustration over the whole thing.
Or they could back completely independent candidates in the hope of something completely different with a fresh start.
One MP told The Sun: “Turnout will be low – but who will stay at home the most?
“The danger for us is that as the Government we take most of the responsibility and Labour’s core vote is a bit more tribal.”
Another predicted that the locals would be a poor result for everyone and wouldn’t change much at all.
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