Elections 2021 Sunday 11 April digest: the political party flooding one seat with 13 candidates, Union flag controversy in Warrington and giving a voice to new political parties
Here’s a latest look at what’s been making the headlines ahead of the local elections across many parts of the UK in May.
A bumper set of district council, county council, Wales and Scottish parliament, Metro Mayor and police and crime commissioner elections are taking place — along with many parish councils.
Local journalists up and down the country will have spent plenty of Friday afternoon hammering our candidate lists as many councils declared officially who was standing in each ward or area.
On BehindLocalNews we’re going to be rounding up some of the great work being done by local journalists across print, digital, TV, radio, social media, hyperlocals and wherever else you find your local coverage of the elections.
Labour ‘must drop candidate’ if they want to use polling station for elections
The president of a housing association in North Liverpool has demanded a candidate be removed from the ballot.
Tony McGann, the president of the Eldonian housing association, has told the Labour Party it must remove Joe Hanson as the candidate for the Kirkdale ward.
MrMcGann has said the village hall in Burlington Street will not be available as a polling station unless Mr Hanson is removed ahead of the 6 May poll, reports the Liverpool Echo.
In a letter to the Labour party the community stalwart also says he feels Cllr Hanson is ‘too closely associated with the Anderson administration that has been so publicly criticised.’
The council is understood to have contingency plans if the village hall cannot be used as a polling station within the ward.
Split the vote 13-ways?
The Monster Raving Loony party are flooding one Kingston council seat with 13 candidates.
Local Democracy Reporter Sian Bayley reports on the ‘crazy’ plan for MyLondon as the candidate list for the Chessington South council by-election was confirmed.
Those on the ballot include Baron Von Achenbach, Undertaking Director Brunskill, Captain Coily, Colonel Cramps and Landlord Rover. It’ll be quite the read-out for the returning officer when they come to results time!
Union flag rows in Warrington
A series of leaked WhatsApp messages of comments made by Warrington Labour figures showed the row over the use of the Union Flag continues.
Local democracy reporter for the Warrington Guardian and associated titles, Aran Dhillon, reported on how the messages centred on a screengrab from Good Morning Britain being posted in a WhatsApp group.
A number of candidates and current councillors, including cabinet members, shared their views on the Union flag being used and flown every day.
Conservative MP for Warrington South, Andy Carter, criticised the messages saying ‘Labour in Warrington have simply lost touch with the views of the vast majority of people in Warrington’.
But in a statement, Warrington Labour said: “Warrington Labour is proud of our country and our priorities are the priorities of the British people.
“The choice at these elections is between Labour offering hope of a better, more secure future, or the Conservatives who just want to take us back to business as usual.”
Everything you need to know
The Welsh Parliament elections feature an additional member system of voting.
Local democracy reporter at North Wales Live, Jez Hemming, took readers through how the constituency votes and the additional vote method worked.
The piece is packed with information on the voting system, registering to vote and more.
Giving a voice to smaller party candidates
Local elections, as evidenced by the Monster Raving Loony Party above, often see more unfamiliar political parties on the ballot paper alongside the traditional Tories, Labour and Lib Dems.
David Tooley, local democracy reporter for the Milton Keynes Citizen, spoke to the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) candidate.
Jane Whild is calling for a “care-led recovery” to the pandemic as her party fights two seats in Milton Keynes.
She said: “We need more women in public life and WEP would make the case for taking the opportunity to build back equal.”
Spotted a good local election story? Have some reporting that your newsroom wants to shout about? Please drop an email to ed.walker@reachplc.com to be included in the Local Elections round-up. The story can be about any election taking place on May 6. We’ll be back next Sunday with more Elections 2021 news!
