If nothing is happening, why keep choosing the same old faces? Why not try someone new? This is the soundtrack that millions will vote against on Thursday 7th May 2026. After all, more than 50 per cent of us have little confidence in our local councillors.
Local elections are not decided by bin collections. If they were, the party offering weekly rather than fortnightly or triweekly collections would win a landslide. Instead, local contests tend to follow the national mood. In 2013, Ukip secured more than a hundred council seats on the back of immigration – which was then, as now, a central concern for many voters. Newly elected councilors spoke almost slurred on camera about residents citing potholes as their reason for voting. However, the same candidates were mandated to campaign on claims that 29 million Romanians and Bulgarians would soon gain the right to live and work in Britain “and benefit here”. Not even a debt-free county council could have done much about it.
The simple truth is that most councilors will fade or fall depending on how well the Prime Minister is doing with the public. This is the reason why predictions for this year’s elections show big losses for more than a thousand incumbent MPs.
This apathy and general crisis of confidence in institutions stems from the dominant issue of the day: the cost of living. For more than three years, it has been the main force shaping voter behavior. Voters who see little financial or material improvement under a government elected with a promise of change have little reason to remain loyal. They will go in search.
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Even when voters are encouraged to think locally, many simply don’t. Perceptions of council performance are linked to views of national government. According to Ipsos, Statewide promises weigh more than local ones when it comes to voting decisions. However, there is a caveat: About a third of voters still say their impression of the local candidate will be decisive – suggesting that personality and individual appeal may still influence the results. (That’s at least a flicker of encouragement for anyone eyeing a council seat in 2027.)
The bin strike in Birmingham may loom large for the city’s frustrated electorate. But even without it, the disappointment would still be there. The anger, the urge to attack, would continue. Voters are angry; they want to act on it. And counselors—though often neither responsible nor capable of solving the issues that fuel that anger—will bear the consequences just the same. Such is the nature of the game. A local waste collection will do little while Downing Street dominates the public mood. After all, it’s a brutal business.
(Further reading: Keir Starmer raises his fists)
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