Amy C. Selman is a former policy adviser to the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
This is the first part of an ongoing short series on Local Government
“It’s worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.”
Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II (2019)
Local government is the layer with most impact on our day-to-day lives.
Not the big-ticket items or grand plans. The things life relies on bin collections, parking permits, school places.
There is collective groaning when the Chancellor of the Exchequer announces that she, or he has a fairer way to charge us. We rarely question a council’s creeping tax rises. Few people will read their leaflets, fewer their pledges. This is not a failing; it is an opportunity to act and shape services.
Council tax is based on official evaluations; the most recent assessment was in 1991. It determined Band D properties as the benchmark, based on a typical family home in the middle price range.
To choose a random constituency example: Makerfield, run by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, and part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Mayor’s patch. Their 2026 local elections had a turnout of 38.9 per cent. So 61.1 per cent stayed at home due to:
Disillusion with Conservative and Labour governments, ‘a plague on both your houses’. A relentless and complex cycle. One third of the council, 25 seats, were up for re-election. Mr Band D funds three local elections every four years.
Democratic fatigue. We can but sympathise with this Band D family as they host a low-profile by-election.
With little motivation to turn off the telly and walk to the Nicole Mere School polling station, they may get a jolt opening this month’s council tax bill. A decade ago, it was £1,479.52. This year, £2,151.42, a 45 per cent increase. It is out of step with the median wage increase for Wigan’s working people in the same period: 30 per cent. Not the sums of Wigan Council, who laudably invoice a low rate for the North West. All English town halls are coping with additional responsibilities; thorny policy areas; inflation.
Inheriting a mess from Angela Raynor, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed vows to tackle the complexity of UK local government. Well-regarded when Leader of Lambeth Council, Reed knows the brief and its sticking points. Metro Mayors, Combined Authorities and Councils may succeed in building a national profile. They fail to promote what they do on the ground. In Westminster the mood can be condescending towards Council Leaders (I have been a guilty party). In London’s City Hall, they became Deputy Mayors, constructive cross-party partners, and our biggest critics!
These are the operational detail and delivery men.
As in Makerfield, our council bills have risen quickly. Yet councils seem absent from the cost-of-living debate, so why vote locally?
Ask councils to get the basics right.
Don’t try and solve climate change. Repair potholes!
“Money that should be filling potholes will actually be filling black holes; resources that should be for collecting waste and supporting vulnerable residents will instead be diverted into restructuring and bureaucracy.” Shadow Secretary of State for MHCLG, Sir James Cleverly MP (2026)
As a disabled adult I have contact with the efficient Cheshire West and Chester Council, for Blue Badge parking and home adaptations. Next week – without challenge – they will divert some of their allocated Disabled Facilities Grant to a self-administered housing scheme for climate change mitigation. There is an evident disconnect between constituent needs and council priorities.
How we could help the Conservative Shadow MHCLG Team? Information. Parliament is stuck in an ongoing war on local government reform. Every ConHome reader will have experiences that inform the small, winnable battles they will fight to cut the administrative sludge: the duplicated forms, files, databases. Or to cut the unnecessary costs often in the form of audits, advisory groups, and referendums. Together we can keep Parliamentary and media pressure on councils so they help people, not pet causes.
Prompt Conservative councils to concentrate on delivery.
Organise Opposition research, now!
“You can’t fatten a pig on market day. You have got to do the work in advance.” Election Strategist Sir Lynton Crosby AO and Australian Liberal Party PM John Howard
Council Leaders prepare party manifestos. There is little scrutiny on implementation and no set transparency. Local media auto-trawls report Search Engine Optimisation. New outlets, such as The Mill, adapt blogging for investigation and interaction. The most reliable source is our expert elected councillors.
CCHQ could help with communication. Our councils may concentrate on delivery but require training and resources separate from town hall allowances to consistently communicate it. Our regional opposition groups should build a real-time record, introducing the electorate as early as possible to failures. These groups will have regular costs; and bids for targeted research.
Place the results in context.
“The palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy.” Benjamin Disraeli, One Nation Leader of the Conservative Party (1848)
“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Winston Churchill, MP for Woodford (1947)
2026’s local elections enabled a national vote. Asked explicitly 63 per cent planned to vote on national issues, 57 per cent on local issues (Ipsos). Quantitative polls show voters across the UK had the same top issues in April 2026: the economy and costs of living, immigration, and policing and crime (YouGov).
These concerns may be national policy areas. As residents have to pay council tax, they should also steer local delivery bodies – and those scrutinising them.
The economy and costs of living can be met by running an efficient council and reassessing additional charging schemes (from recycling to tourist taxes). They may raise revenue for the council; they certainly add direct and indirect costs for residents and businesses.
Immigration is (often incorrectly) linked to pressure on public services. Although policy is made in Whitehall, councils are on the frontline here.
A positive step in our education system is proactive recognition of SEND pupils. Council spending on SEND has risen by two-thirds over the past decade.
Adult Social Care. A continual loop of debate, now under review by Baroness Casey (launched 3 Jan 2025). Whilst this work continues, councils foot the bill, with 92 per cent raising the adult social care precept to its maximum in 2026/27.
Policing and crime fears are connected to grey and grotty streets. We know what works here: designing out crime and broken windows policing .
Media coverage focused on the 1,453 Reform councillors were elected (some defectors from other political parties), taking control of 14 councils. Anticipated mid-term protest votes also benefited the Green Party, whose Leader rarely had time to mention the environment; nor to pay his council tax. Voters backed today’s Resident Association equivalents, hyperlocal and Muslim Independents.
The campaigns that follow must be matched with real scrutiny of their time in office.
How Tory MPs could help
Dissect the details. MPs meet councillors and constituents constantly and know what is working in their patch. Chancellor George Osborne’s devolution revolution transformed regional growth. National legislation, regulation and funding formulas are put in place with best of intentions. Schemes though often have a shelf-life as circumstances change. Perhaps it is time to review if local government is the most suitable place to invoice and deliver specialist education, social care, street policing.
Hopefully I’ve dispelled any image of fictional local councillors in the parish rooms a la the Vicar of Dibley! (“Secretary: Shall I minute that sir? Chair: Minute what? Secretary: About my taking the minutes?“). Or the recent Walford election campaign in EastEnders (Candidate hustings: “We are all friends and neighbours. And let’s face it, everybody needs good neighbours. With a little understanding.”) Real life is less amusing, more complex, and, frustratingly, of often ignored importance.
Why should you vote locally?
In one word: potholes.
Amy C. Selman is a former policy adviser to the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
This is the first part of an ongoing short series on Local Government
“It’s worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.”
Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II (2019)
Local government is the layer with most impact on our day-to-day lives.
Not the big-ticket items or grand plans. The things life relies on bin collections, parking permits, school places.
There is collective groaning when the Chancellor of the Exchequer announces that she, or he has a fairer way to charge us. We rarely question a council’s creeping tax rises. Few people will read their leaflets, fewer their pledges. This is not a failing; it is an opportunity to act and shape services.
Council tax is based on official evaluations; the most recent assessment was in 1991. It determined Band D properties as the benchmark, based on a typical family home in the middle price range.
To choose a random constituency example: Makerfield, run by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, and part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Mayor’s patch. Their 2026 local elections had a turnout of 38.9 per cent. So 61.1 per cent stayed at home due to:
Disillusion with Conservative and Labour governments, ‘a plague on both your houses’. A relentless and complex cycle. One third of the council, 25 seats, were up for re-election. Mr Band D funds three local elections every four years.
Democratic fatigue. We can but sympathise with this Band D family as they host a low-profile by-election.
With little motivation to turn off the telly and walk to the Nicole Mere School polling station, they may get a jolt opening this month’s council tax bill. A decade ago, it was £1,479.52. This year, £2,151.42, a 45 per cent increase. It is out of step with the median wage increase for Wigan’s working people in the same period: 30 per cent. Not the sums of Wigan Council, who laudably invoice a low rate for the North West. All English town halls are coping with additional responsibilities; thorny policy areas; inflation.
Inheriting a mess from Angela Raynor, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed vows to tackle the complexity of UK local government. Well-regarded when Leader of Lambeth Council, Reed knows the brief and its sticking points. Metro Mayors, Combined Authorities and Councils may succeed in building a national profile. They fail to promote what they do on the ground. In Westminster the mood can be condescending towards Council Leaders (I have been a guilty party). In London’s City Hall, they became Deputy Mayors, constructive cross-party partners, and our biggest critics!
These are the operational detail and delivery men.
As in Makerfield, our council bills have risen quickly. Yet councils seem absent from the cost-of-living debate, so why vote locally?
Ask councils to get the basics right.
Don’t try and solve climate change. Repair potholes!
“Money that should be filling potholes will actually be filling black holes; resources that should be for collecting waste and supporting vulnerable residents will instead be diverted into restructuring and bureaucracy.” Shadow Secretary of State for MHCLG, Sir James Cleverly MP (2026)
As a disabled adult I have contact with the efficient Cheshire West and Chester Council, for Blue Badge parking and home adaptations. Next week – without challenge – they will divert some of their allocated Disabled Facilities Grant to a self-administered housing scheme for climate change mitigation. There is an evident disconnect between constituent needs and council priorities.
How we could help the Conservative Shadow MHCLG Team? Information. Parliament is stuck in an ongoing war on local government reform. Every ConHome reader will have experiences that inform the small, winnable battles they will fight to cut the administrative sludge: the duplicated forms, files, databases. Or to cut the unnecessary costs often in the form of audits, advisory groups, and referendums. Together we can keep Parliamentary and media pressure on councils so they help people, not pet causes.
Prompt Conservative councils to concentrate on delivery.
Organise Opposition research, now!
“You can’t fatten a pig on market day. You have got to do the work in advance.” Election Strategist Sir Lynton Crosby AO and Australian Liberal Party PM John Howard
Council Leaders prepare party manifestos. There is little scrutiny on implementation and no set transparency. Local media auto-trawls report Search Engine Optimisation. New outlets, such as The Mill, adapt blogging for investigation and interaction. The most reliable source is our expert elected councillors.
CCHQ could help with communication. Our councils may concentrate on delivery but require training and resources separate from town hall allowances to consistently communicate it. Our regional opposition groups should build a real-time record, introducing the electorate as early as possible to failures. These groups will have regular costs; and bids for targeted research.
Place the results in context.
“The palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy.” Benjamin Disraeli, One Nation Leader of the Conservative Party (1848)
“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Winston Churchill, MP for Woodford (1947)
2026’s local elections enabled a national vote. Asked explicitly 63 per cent planned to vote on national issues, 57 per cent on local issues (Ipsos). Quantitative polls show voters across the UK had the same top issues in April 2026: the economy and costs of living, immigration, and policing and crime (YouGov).
These concerns may be national policy areas. As residents have to pay council tax, they should also steer local delivery bodies – and those scrutinising them.
The economy and costs of living can be met by running an efficient council and reassessing additional charging schemes (from recycling to tourist taxes). They may raise revenue for the council; they certainly add direct and indirect costs for residents and businesses.
Immigration is (often incorrectly) linked to pressure on public services. Although policy is made in Whitehall, councils are on the frontline here.
A positive step in our education system is proactive recognition of SEND pupils. Council spending on SEND has risen by two-thirds over the past decade.
Adult Social Care. A continual loop of debate, now under review by Baroness Casey (launched 3 Jan 2025). Whilst this work continues, councils foot the bill, with 92 per cent raising the adult social care precept to its maximum in 2026/27.
Policing and crime fears are connected to grey and grotty streets. We know what works here: designing out crime and broken windows policing .
Media coverage focused on the 1,453 Reform councillors were elected (some defectors from other political parties), taking control of 14 councils. Anticipated mid-term protest votes also benefited the Green Party, whose Leader rarely had time to mention the environment; nor to pay his council tax. Voters backed today’s Resident Association equivalents, hyperlocal and Muslim Independents.
The campaigns that follow must be matched with real scrutiny of their time in office.
How Tory MPs could help
Dissect the details. MPs meet councillors and constituents constantly and know what is working in their patch. Chancellor George Osborne’s devolution revolution transformed regional growth. National legislation, regulation and funding formulas are put in place with best of intentions. Schemes though often have a shelf-life as circumstances change. Perhaps it is time to review if local government is the most suitable place to invoice and deliver specialist education, social care, street policing.
Hopefully I’ve dispelled any image of fictional local councillors in the parish rooms a la the Vicar of Dibley! (“Secretary: Shall I minute that sir? Chair: Minute what? Secretary: About my taking the minutes?“). Or the recent Walford election campaign in EastEnders (Candidate hustings: “We are all friends and neighbours. And let’s face it, everybody needs good neighbours. With a little understanding.”) Real life is less amusing, more complex, and, frustratingly, of often ignored importance.
Why should you vote locally?
In one word: potholes.