Whilst voting patterns in local elections may not be reflected at a general election, it's not necessarily a given that Laura Kuenssberg will get The Big Gig after last night.
She's always been better at answering questions than asking them. There was her usual fast-paced presentation, which needs more light and shade over the long hours; she should be less frightened of gaps. Equally, she's no Dimbleby when it comes to unveiling research facts as if they were from deep within her well-stocked brain, or expressing producer's questions as if they were formed in extempore fashion on the spot.
It is one of the weirdest aspects of British politics that everyone - MPs, councillors, voters - treats local elections as if they were analogous to US 'midterms', ie as if seats in the national legislature were at stake. They are not: occasionally, like this year, a Parliamentary by-election happens to coincide with the locals, but generally we are voting on seats on roughly half of local councils.
ReplyDeleteYet the media help sustain the idea that the majority vote for parties based on their national policies and past performance, when they should be voting on local issues, which might have nothing whatsoever to do with what parties are doing in Parliament.
And this is a self-fulfilling prophecy; voters ignore what's happening - or not happening - with their bins, street lighting, social care and so on, in favour of giving Westminster an alleged, entirely inconsequential kick up the bum. And so it revolves. Result: local councils no longer fear the ballot box, and do what the hell they want. Well done, everyone.