Cllr Gary Ridley represents Woodlands Ward and leads the Conservative Group on Coventry City Council.
It’s not easy being a Conservative at this moment in time, especially if you hold elected office at any level. During my time in politics, I’ve had the honour to be a councillor in Coventry for 18 years, stand for Parliament twice and work for a Eurosceptic MEP. But I got involved in local politics because I wanted to help shape the future of my neighbourhood.
Local government is the lifeblood of our democracy. It is the most accessible form of government that we have, and it can empower communities to take control of their own destiny. Contrary to the spotlight-stealing dramas of national politics, the ramifications of local governance are tangible and immediate.
If your bins aren’t collected, you’ll smell them more quickly than any Westminster scandal. If your leisure centre closes, you’ll need to find somewhere else to take the kids. And you face the spectre of a 20 per cent hike in council tax if your authority goes bust. Why then are local elections so often treated as little more than a vox populi on the government of the day?
Just down the road Labour has already led the second city into bankruptcy, and their cousins here are not far behind. They warn of the need for a ‘section 114 notice’ whilst squandering taxpayers’ money on dubious projects and failed investments. They fund most of this through borrowing which currently stands at more than £300m.
In the West Midlands this year electors will also choose a Mayor and a Police and Crime Commissioner. Those elected will have the power to levy taxes and make big decisions over things that affect our daily lives.
Whenever we treat these elections as a reflection on the politics of Westminster we are letting many failing Labour councils off the hook. Whenever you challenge them they deflect, obfuscate and blame the Conservatives for everything. They know they can do this so long as there is a Conservative Government. I suspect many of them secretly fear a Keir Starmer victory more than we do for this reason.
These councils are taking big decisions over our lives and yet in many cases, they are not adequately being held to account. Local media is disappearing, and voter engagement is low. And if the opinion polls are to be believed, hundreds of outstanding Conservative councillors are heading to the political equivalent of Valhalla.
Who then will stand up to these failing Labour behemoths?
Amidst the gloom surrounding this narrative I do sense a glimmer of hope, the electorate are becoming more sophisticated and less tribal. This time around I’ve spoken to many residents who are planning to vote differently based on the election taking place. They’re thinking more about the issues and who best represents their views. But there’s always a but! This response seems limited to those areas represented by a strong incumbent, with a solid track record of delivery and an effective communication machine in place.
Many of the people currently pounding the streets for the Conservatives will be worried about their own prospects – they should. All too often local councillors, of all shades, bear the brunt of the voter’s frustration with their national party.
Labour’s campaign in my ward is all about national issues, largely because after 14 years of mismanaging Coventry they have nothing to say. It’s a slight of hand, a distraction to stop voters holding them to account. My response has been to focus on the issues and talk about the things I actually have a vote on. In my campaign, I’ve promised to fight Labour’s plans to put a bus lane through our local village green. I’ve pledged to get our pavements and highways repaired, and to tackle local flooding issues.
I’ve always felt that most people don’t think of politics as a left/right spectrum in the way politicians do. Most of them just want the bins collecting, the schools to open on time, a decent job and a place to live.
When you engage with residents, they can quickly become irate about local issues because local government is important. On the doorstep, one lady recently proclaimed; ‘I won’t vote for anyone that sends people to Rwanda’. However, she was just as passionate about that broken pavement slab in front of her house, and that noisy pothole that keeps her husband up at night.
There will be a time to talk about the big political issues of the day. And when that time comes thousands of councillors and activists will rush to support their parliamentary candidates. But that’s for another day. Let’s keep these elections local.
The media may expect a bloodbath at these elections. But if we campaign on local issues I’m sure that many of our finest councillors may yet save themselves from the clutches of Odin’s Valkyries and live to fight another political battle.