Local elections: Should Labour be talking more about council issues?

Another UK poll has Labour’s lead narrowing today, down to 15 points, though that was before the fallout from deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab’s resignation over bullying accusations. Better news in Scotland, where a Holyrood poll has Labour’s constituency vote at its highest since the referendum.

But really we should be talking about England’s local elections —depressingly under-debated in the national political conversation in recent weeks, and disproportionately focused on national politics even when they are discussed.

Scrutinising local politics through a national lens is important and understandable (we do it ourselves); so too is Labour’s focus on its national priorities like crime and the NHS. But you’d expect at least a few more issues to shape the debate which councils are actually responsible for, and national parties, pollsters and media to be hunting for party trends cropping up nationally.

Which parties are doing a better job mitigating austerity, and running waste, housing, planning, education, transport, social care and countless other services?

The number of voters who know “not very much or nothing” about councillors’ work has risen to 61%, according to a poll today by the Local Government Intelligence Unit. Some 41% have heard little or nothing about voter ID rules too. Huge funding cuts won’t have helped voter engagement with councils, and perhaps Labour’s ramped-up devolution agenda will help reverse the trend.

But boosting understanding and celebrating Labour councils’ achievements should be a priority. Voters who don’t understand councillors’ work seem more likely to vote just on national issues —perhaps fortunate when Labour’s leading the polls, but leaving councillors exposed if the party hits a run of bad headlines or polls narrow further.

Elsewhere in LabourLand — two comfortable council by-election wins overnight. Destiny Karakus become Enfield’s youngest Labour councillor after winning 55.8% of the vote. Denis Matthews won in a ward in Warrington South — a constituency Labour lost narrowly in 2019 — with a 40.7% vote share, with the Conservatives second on 30%.

Scottish Labour unveiled two further candidates overnight too, Kenneth Stevenson in Airdrie and Shotts and Pamela Nash in Motherwell and Wishaw. Graeme Downie was selected in Dunfermline and West Fife and Wilma Brown in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath on Wednesday.

And finally, another Labour attack ad about cancer treatment’s dropped on Twitter, ahead of Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s speech on NHS reform today. Strategists have clearly decided they’re getting enough cut-through without bothering to buy a blue tick.

LabourList is weighing up whether it should pay  — and on another note, whether we should shake up this newsletter a bit too. Thoughts, ideas and feedback welcome at [email protected].