Local Government Participation and Elections Review

Local councils are often described as the sphere of government that is ‘closest to the people’. The services they provide are often those that touch our day-to-day lives most closely. Yet this involvement with local services isn’t always reflected in how people engage with councils.

While local members are elected to represent their local communities, historically only around one-third of voters choose to vote in their local council elections.

Councils can also struggle to have a good number of diverse candidates willing to stand for election, to ensure that a local elected body has the best chance of representing and making the best decisions for its local community.

Over the past 20 years, the local government sector has been making increasingly large investments in promoting elections, both to encourage nominations, and to increase voter turnout. Despite these investments, engagement with councils at election times has remained at consistently low rates.