Local Elections 2018: 5 Minute Briefing
Local Elections are taking place on this week, here is our five minute guide to what you need to know. (psst, if you want more info take a look at our full local elections guide here: votingcounts.org.uk/local-elections)
What? & Who?
In local government elections you are voting for between one and three Councillors to represent your ward on the local council. If you want to know who is standing to be a Councillor in your area, just input your postcode into this helpful tool.
These Councillors will get a say on some important things in your community including; transport, recycling and waste, roads, planning, local green spaces and council run facilities (such as sport centers, libraries etc).
Why Vote?
- Your local council has an impact on many of the services you see and use every day, make sure that you’ve been part of choosing who makes these decisions. You can vote for candidates who have a similar vision for the future of your community as you do.
- Local councils set the rates of Council Tax for your area, these rates have a direct impact on your income as well as the services in your area.
- Councillors represent a much smaller group of people than MPs do, that means your single vote is more likely to make an impact on the result.
How? & When?
You (or your proxy) can vote in person, between 7am-10pm on 3rd May 2018, by visiting your local polling station (find it here).
Alternatively, if you have a postal vote set up, make sure you send it back so that it arrives by 10pm on election day. If it arrives later than this, your vote won’t be counted. You can hand your postal ballot in at your local council on the day if you’re not able to send it back by post in advance.
If you are voting in Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford or Woking you will need to take ID with you to the polling station to vote in the local elections. Without it you won’t be able to vote (More info).
(You must have been registered to vote before April 17th to be eligible to vote).
Where?
If you want to know where your polling station is, you can find out here: Where do I vote?.
If you’re wondering whether local elections are happening in your area, this is where it gets confusing, as local elections aren’t happening in every part of the country, but here is a list of places that are heading to the polls on Thursday:
Read our full guide to the local elections
Help Voting Counts promote Local Elections by sharing our tweet:
#DoYouCare about the local elections? 👇🗳 https://t.co/aVLBLCIWoy pic.twitter.com/nBlYbGBWze
— Voting Counts 🗳 (@VotingCountsUK) February 13, 2018
