[g jones]

Local Elections held on one day, teh first thursday in May, simply turn into a referendum on the national government. However spreading them out wouldn't change anything in my view.

Voting on the government is an easy option and it not only represents issues that are of greatest importance to themajority, national issues. They are the issues people are familiar with and understand.

Local Councillors have to work very hard to compete with the bigger, national issues which pervade into people’s lives through tv news, newspapers and national policy such as the NHS.

Some local councillors manage to match national news with local news because of their efforts and their results run slightly at odds with national trends proving that local can be important.

People vote for a party locally because it represents a guaranteed offer, essentially left or right. Many voters never see candidates and if they do it is only for a moment on the doorstep and badge gurantee's some form of a contract between voter and candidate. Party's also offer a commitment to work together and a mandate. The major Party's have tended to offer a clear winner too.

All these factors I think form the basis of local election results which is shame. Councillor Britcliffe has wasted tens of £millions and under normal circumstances would never have been allowed anywhere near the leaders office.