Consider the primary role of local councillors: representing their ward and the people who live in it. A quick look at South Gloucestershire Council suggests the current make-up of Councillors is far from representative of local residents.
In the 2015 local elections, the Conservatives received 42% of the votes in South Glos, and yet they make up 57% of our Councillors. Labour received 27.6% of the votes and yet only make up 20% of our Councillors. 100% of Councillors in South Glos belong to either Labour, the Tories or the Lib Dems despite more than 10% of votes going to other parties.
An extreme example can be seen in Hanham, where three Councillors represent the Ward. The Conservatives received less than half – just 49.6%, of the votes in 2015, yet all three Councillors are Conservative!
It’s easy to see that views and concerns of residents in South Glos, and particularly residents of wards like Hanham, are simply not being represented fairly. When you also consider the average demographic of a Councillor in the UK (67% male and 97% white with an average age of 60.2), it’s clear that something has to change if Councillors in South Glos and the UK are to ever achieve their primary role.
The need for change is made evermore urgent by the unnecessary budget cuts enforced by the Tories that are decimating local governments across the UK. Crime is ballooning, green spaces are degrading, public transport is increasingly desperate, child illiteracy is rising and local libraries are a dying breed. South Glos Council is in the process of preparing their Climate Change Strategy – given their track record, can we really trust a disproportionately Tory-dominated Council to adequately lead the way in fighting and adapting to climate change?
Whilst the campaign for a more representative voting system is gathering pace, the much needed amendment to the way votes are counted isn’t around the corner and about to improve the representation issue. But one thing that can be influenced is how people vote, and May 2019 will be an exciting opportunity to deliver some much needed change to South Glos Council.
Joseph Evans – Hanham
