Will the Tories keep control of our unitary councils?
A month from today voters will be choosing their new council representatives - but will there be a changing of the political guard?
By Sarah Ward
When Labour turned over more than a decade of Tory dominance in parliament last July, there was a feeling that it would herald a change in local government and the party could gain control of Northants’ two unitary councils in the upcoming local elections. But after a series of unpopular national policy decisions, the party is down in the polls and while their usual Conservative rivals are also unpopular, Reform UK is undoubtedly on the ascendancy.
So far it has been a lacklustre pre election period in Northants - you’d be forgiven for not knowing there is an election in just 30 days time - but that could change tomorrow evening when the Nigel Farage circus lands at Kettering Leisure Village to kick start his party’s attempt to win some seats on the two authorities.
Views from across the political spectrum
A Tory insider told NN Journal:
“Reform is definitely getting our lot worried. I have never seen such apathy for the major party on the doorsteps. I think Reform is going to get some seats. Their tactic appears to be to get names on the ballot sheet, and I haven’t seen much of their ideas, but I think it is going to work. I am not sure who they will hurt more - us or Labour.”
Chris Stanbra, a former Liberal Democrat county councillor who will be on the ballot in a Corby ward, is unsure how the Conservatives, who hold a significant majority on the North unitary will do.
He said:
“I don’t know whether they will remain in power, or not. I hope not. I hope the electorate will go for something new. We need a fresh vision on how the council is run in North Northamptonshire for sure.
“Labour has done an appalling job in opposition. If we were in charge we would like to build a load of council houses and look to spend some of the £120m sitting in reserves. We are saying there needs to be a thorough review of the council’s reserves. The council has come up with some plans - such as the Big 50 - but if they don’t end up doing anything, then it’s just a waste of time. These have been a wasted four years in my view.
“There were so many things the Conservatives could have done that they haven’t. It has taken them four years to put a housing strategy out for consultation. The houses that have been given planning permission are not being built and nobody is trying to make things happen. We have gone backwards in so many areas, particularly in special educational needs provision.”
As to Nigel Farage’s party, he says:
“My expectation with Reform is that they will do very well in a lot of wards and get perhaps 20 to 25 per cent of the vote. But they won’t necessarily get that little bit extra they need to get elected. I may be proved wrong though. If the vote is split up, then 25 per cent may be enough to get you elected.”
The Labour group leader on West Northamptonshire Council, Wendy Randall, says what will happen is hard to predict.
She said:
“I live in hope. But it is really difficult at the moment, as we don’t know who the other candidates are. We don’t know what Reform will do and that is the unknown.
“We don’t know if it is going to make a difference. A few months ago I think their chances of winning some seats were higher than they are now.
“What I hope is that whoever the public choose as a councillor, that they are going to get a good councillor who wants to work for their area.
“It’s been a bit of a mix on the doorstep, but I just say to people ‘these elections are important as the council affects your daily lives.’
“If Labour took control of the council, the first thing I would do would be to go out with the highways contractors and find out what they are doing to repair the roads. We can’t keep giving money to the same contractor. They are doing shocking repairs.”
The Green party caused a stir in the 2021 election when they took all three seats on the typically Conservative Kettering Clover Hill ward.
Leader of the Kettering Green Alliance Emily Fedorowycz said:
“It is going very well for us and we have a huge amount of support. We have more people standing to be a Green councillor than ever before because people are liking what we stand for - being a positive force for good in our local towns and villages.”
“I know that some people look to ourselves or Reform when they become fed up with the big two parties and I would say to people that you need to look at who you are voting for.
“I hope people can see from the work we are doing that we are the ones getting out there and taking action - we are the only credible local alternative.”
What happens now?
Boundary changes mean that some new wards have been created, but the overall number of councillors elected in the county will reduce by 27. The numbers on the North unitary will drop by ten to 68 and in the larger West council, 76 councillors will be elected on May 1, rather than the current 93.
The candidates have until 4pm tomorrow to submit their nominations and the list of what could be more than 600 candidates across the 144 wards in West and North will be published shortly afterwards.
How to vote
There is still time to get yourself onto the electoral register, so that you can make a vote. You can register online with your national insurance number by April 11 or write to the local authority.
The results for the unitary councils will be announced on Friday, May 2 and the parish council results will be announced the following day.
Another thought that I omitted is: there are quite a number of Independent Councillors who in my opinion are extremely effective. Why,? Because they are not bound by party politics and care more about they wards. Also, last year a Labour Commissioner was elected. What exactly have they achieved? There is even more staff in that office now, three times more than any other PCC and costing the tax payer even more money. According to Rachel Reeves we should be cutting cost on everything.
Something that has totally escape the present Commissioner. She seem to think she has a bottomless pit of money and can hire staff infinitum.
Not tories but Anita's comments are well delivered. What a mess!