The Democratic Process

Let’s start by looking at what happens locally. 

Local elections can be held for a parish, district, city, metropolitan area or a county. This article is about ‘Single-tier’ authorities.  These are unitary authorities; metropolitan and London boroughs.

How people get elected

Most local authorities are divided into electoral wards. Each ward usually has three councillors. Everyone who is eligible to vote can vote for three candidates and the three who get the most votes are elected. 

Most local elections are held every four years, and elect all the councillors at the same time. Others elect one-third of councillors for a four-year term with elections in three out of every four years.

Candidates usually represent a political party, but people can stand as Independent candidates.

How local councils are run

When all the councillors have been elected, the political party which has the majority of councillors will run the Council. If no party has overall control, they may do a deal with another party and run the Council together.

The ruling party then hold elections for the Leader and Deputy Leader and councillors who will lead in various areas, such as Housing, Planning, Employment, Environment, etc. These Councillors form The Cabinet, which meets to decide key policies and strategies for the Council.

The other councillors from all parties serve on other Committees such as Scrutiny Committees which look at the decisions made by the Cabinet. If necessary, they ask the Cabinet to review those decisions.

The people who carry out decisions made by councillors are Council Officers.  They are not elected, but are paid employees of the council.

How the public can influence decisions

A good time to influence decisions is during the local elections themselves. For example, campaigners can write to candidates to set out their demands and ask the candidates if they support these.  The replies can be made public and this could influence how residents vote.

Campaign groups can also invite candidates from each political party to a meeting to say what they propose to do or to answer questions from local people. These meetings are called ‘hustings’.

Once elected, most councillors hold ‘surgeries’ for the residents in their ward (in person or online) so residents can attend their ward councillors’ surgeries. People can also write or email councillors for help, or to ask them to support certain services or policies or to take specific actions.

Most Council meetings are open to the public and the items for discussion at each meeting are  available through the Council’s website.  Individuals or groups can ask to speak at the start of each meeting about an issue which is on the agenda for that meeting. 

Councils often hold regular Public Meetings to inform residents about what they are doing and invite comments. This is also a way that campaign groups can seek to influence the Council and gain support from other members of the public.

If these formal channels don’t work, campaigners can take more direct action. The can collect signatures for a petition and present it to the Council, or hold a demonstration outside the building where councillors are meeting.

Social media also offers ways to influence councillors individually or as a group.