2010 Local Council Elections – Thursday May 6th
Record number of Green candidates
A chance to make real green changes on your Local council
This year’s local elections take place at the same time as the General Election. One third of the seats in each of 118 District, Borough, Metropolitan Borough and Unitary Councils outside of London, and all seats on the 32 London Borough Councils, are up for election. Three others have by-elections with Green party candidates.
This presents an opportunity to make real green progress on a number of key issues.
We believe that we can increase the number of Green Councillors on such authorities from the present 126, gaining the Party's first representation on new Councils in the process. We are campaigning for strong results elsewhere that will lead to further gains in the next few years.
Even a handful of Green councillors on each local council can make a massive difference.
For information about voting and finding out whether you have a Green candidate to vote for at your local Council elections, see below.
To see if you have a Green candidate to vote for at the General Election, click here.
What are these elections about?
Districts and Boroughs outside of London are responsible for planning, housing, leisure, environmental health, rubbish collection, and local roads. Unitary authorities, Metropolitan Boroughs and London Boroughs are all-purpose Councils providing the full range of local authority services in their area so that, besides the above, they are also responsible for more strategic services such as education, social services, libraries, waste disposal, principal roads and other transport matters. They also play a part in running the police and fire services. Councils also have a broad remit to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area.
Why vote Green ?
These Council powers can be used to deliver the Green Party’s policies of improving local neighbourhoods, enhancing local services, promoting health and protecting the wider environment. Green Councillors around the country have, for example, done a lot of work on improving the energy efficiency of homes, including major free insulation schemes and renewable energy installations in Kirklees, have helped introduce 20 mph zones and have pushed for fair wages and supported small businesses.
To find out more about the Local Green Party in your area, and its policies for these local elections, see the bottom section of this page.
Voting for the Green Party at the local elections
Am I able to vote?
To be able to vote you must be on the electoral register and be 18 or over on or before polling day. If you’re a citizen of an EU member state registered to vote in this country, you are entitled to vote in the local elections but not the General Election.
It is now too late to register to vote for these elections. If you registered for a postal vote it should have arrived by now. Contact Electoral Services at your local District/Borough Council if you’re not sure whether you’re registered or you have not received your postal vote.
Polling hours will be from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday 6th May. Your Polling Card will tell you which Polling Station you should go to.
Does my Council have elections this year?
All London Boroughs have elections for all of their seats. If you live elsewhere and you’re not sure whether your Council has elections this year or not, check its website for details.
Which Ward am I in?
Voting takes places in sub-divisions of a Council area called Wards. In London every Ward has an election. In some of the other Council areas with elections, some Wards have an election this year, whilst others do not.
To find out which Ward you are in examine your polling card from your Council, ring the Council's Electoral Services Department or visit the Council's website.
Do I have a Green candidate to vote for?
This year we are contesting 1,614 of the 4,191 seats up for election, significantly more than at the last comparable elections, plus the Mayoral elections in Watford, Hackney and Lewisham .
Outside of London you will be voting for one Councillor in each Ward (unless there is a co-incident by-election). In London you will be voting for three (rarely two) Councillors per Ward.
In several places such as Oxford, Watford, Bristol, Sheffield, Solihull, Liverpool, Cambridge, Colchester and St. Albans we are strong enough to contest all seats.
In London, where larger numbers of seats are up for election, some Councils such as Camden, Lambeth and Lewisham have Green candidates for every seat. In some others there will be at least one Green candidate in every Ward, and a full complement in Wards with the highest levels of Green support.
Unfortunately, there are a number of Councils, and many Wards, with no Green candidates. We are a small, but growing Party. Please join us so that we can contest more seats next time.
Your Green Party candidate(s) will have the description ‘Green Party’ under their name on the ballot paper, and the Green Party emblem to the right of these details.
To find out whether or not there are Green candidates to vote for in your Ward, check the list here (PDF document, 130KB)
If you find that your Council or Ward is not listed then the following possibilities apply:
- your council does not have an election
- your council is only re-electing one third of its seats this year and there is no election in your ward this time
- there are no Green Party candidates for your Council or the Ward you live in.
In the latter event, please consider joining us and helping to rectify that at the next election!
Voters often ask us whether they can go and vote in another Ward where there is a Green candidate. The answer is no, you can only vote in the Ward for which you are registered as an elector.
Using your votes in wards with more than one seat up for election
London Boroughs are re-electing all of their seats this year, and there will be 3 (rarely 2) seats up for election in a given Ward. Elsewhere there may be 2 seats up for election in the event of a co-incident by-election. The number of seats up for election is indicated after the Ward name in our chart.
- You will have as many votes as there are seats.
- If the Green Party is standing as many candidates as there are seats in your Ward, we would urge you to vote for all of our candidates. Where we get two or more candidates elected they have "official Group" status which gives them much more influence on the council. We can also be sure of getting our motions seconded so that Green concerns have to be debated in the council chamber - this gives them a higher profile and prevents the other Parties from brushing them under the carpet.
- You do not have to use all of your votes.
- If the Green Party is standing fewer candidates than there are seats up for election in your Ward, they will have the best chance of election if you only vote for them. Votes for candidates of other Parties will, in a sense, cancel out your Green vote because the Green candidate(s) need(s) to get more votes than the other candidates in order to get elected.
- You do not have to cast all your votes for the same Party.
- If you normally support another Party and want to continue doing so, but never-the-less believe that the Green Party's point of view should be heard on your council, please consider giving us at least one of your votes. The Local Green Party's leaflets and other promotional work may have indicated which of the Green candidates they would most like you to vote for if you only feel able to give us some of your votes at this time. In some cases this will be indicated by the description ‘Green Party Lead candidate’ or ‘Green Party first choice candidate’ on the ballot paper. By focussing such votes on selected candidates we have a greater chance of getting at least one Green elected.
Local versus General Election?
NOTE that you do not have to vote for the same party in both the Local and General Elections.
You may only feel able to vote for us in one of the two elections and Green candidates are well-placed to win Council seats in your area, make it the Local Elections. But please bear in mind the fact that this time there are some constituencies where we have a real chance of getting MPs elected for the first time, and their position will be strengthened by as big a Green vote across the UK at the General Election as possible.
Find out if you have a Green candidate in the local elections:Download the full list here (PDF 130KB) |
