Everyone says that people vote elsewhere in local elections to give the current government a short, sharp shock but is this not the other way round?
Surely, people think of councillors as more involved and less sly than MPs so if they were wanting to deliver a show of dissatisfaction to the government then wont they vote elsewhere at a general election and vote for whoever they think would run their ward better in local elections?
This occurred to me when my friend said he voted Lib Dem in the locals but would vote Tory at the general to get rid of Labour.
Does anyone else agree?
1 hour ago
3 comments:
Are you the ghost of Willie Whitelaw? (no, I won't clarify that, just want to see if anyone understands)
Anyway, I completely disagree :P. I just don't think the electorate is sophisticated enough for that sort of behaviour. As sad as it is, I reckon most people wouldn't even be able to explain the division of powers between central government and local government.
Ben, did you have to impose Gordon Brown's head on your body? lol
I think it's not quite that simple. In 1994 & 1995 the Tories experienced the same tsunami that Labour has just had. Did everyone all over the country suddenly decide that their Tory run councils were dreadful? Of course not. They used the local elections to vent anger at the government.
But to say that people only vote on national issues is also wrong. Many people will vote for a popular councillor irrespective of party.
The electorate also seem more prepared to split their votes and vary them for different bodies. In 1997 the county council elections were on the same day as the General Election. Whilst Tory MPs were being slaughtered, in the same area many of their council colleagues made gains.
The Welsh Assembly is another example. Plaid Cymru do far far better than they do in General Elections.
Does Plaid get a lot more coverage in Wales during general elections than it does with councils?
I've not been here long enough to see their campaigning in a general but I hardly saw any campaigning at all in the local elections.
Mind you, I saw no Tory campaigning either. Full of Limp Dumbs!
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