The penultimate part of this series on local government and independence looks at how local democracy and community spirit could be enhanced – in many respects without even needing independence.
Local democracy was one of the key focal points for the Local Government & Elections Act 2021. That instituted several reforms, covered previously in Part III:
There continues to be a diversity problem in local government.
As mentioned previously, the disabled, women and people of colour continue to be under-represented more generally (around 36% of councillors elected in 2022 were women) and at the leadership level. Elsewhere, the average age of a Welsh county councillor has been said to be around 60.
Other than the electoral system itself (which I’ll return to shortly), improving diversity and tackling abuse of local politicians would probably be towards the top of the list of priorities too.
On the abuse issue, other than harsher criminal and civil penalties – and offering personal security and social media advice – I’m not entirely sure what other practical things can be done to address it directly.
Indirectly, there’s an argument for better political education so the public knows what local politicians can and can’t do, what they do day-to-day and the personal sacrifices many need to make as public servants.
That could foster a bit of empathy and make people think twice before sending an abusive tweet or email, but that might be expecting too much.
On diversity, some of the most common measures brought up include mentoring, bounties/grants to assist with election costs, quotas, all-women shortlists, changing working practices (i.e. holding more meetings in the evenings), mandatory retirement ages and term limits. Some may require changes to the electoral system; others additional ring-fenced funding.
The Electoral System
I’ve touched on this in previous parts, but here’s a rundown of the options for electing members to local and regional bodies (best views in another window/tab).
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The Election Cycle
At the moment, local government operates on five-year terms. The previous norm was four years, though it’s been as short as two years in the 1980s and 1990s.
I’m in favour of a four-year electoral cycle across the board. Some countries – notably Australia and New Zealand – have a three-year cycle, while members of the US House of Representatives have two-year terms. That comes across as being a bit too short for a parliamentary-style system as it means there’s a rush to get things done; it’s fine if the executive is separate.
Meanwhile, five years is too long – as we’ve seen at UK Parliament and Senedd level.
Elections can act as a pressure valve and there’s a risk that with five-year terms (or longer) certain politicians and parties overstay their welcome. This increases the risk of political instability if the next election seems too far away for the “pressure valve to be released”.
A return to four-year terms would provide a steady turnover of local politicians, give political leaders enough time to enact whatever policies they were elected to enact and provide enough space between elections to different tiers.
The last time I did this I included elections to the European Parliament, but there’s little point now.
So the electoral cycle could look something like this:
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