Do the people of Norwich care about the upcoming City Council elections?

Photo: Joe Bunker

With the polls for local elections across the country opening this Thursday (5th May), what do the people of Norwich think about their local democracy?

Norwich City Council has 13 out of its 39 councillors up for election, and at present Labour has a majority with 26 councillors and therefore can’t lose control of the council. The Greens are the party to watch this year, with 10 councillors in total and are hoping to make gains in this election.

So will be the people of Norwich be taking part in the elections?

Lilly, 32, a full-time mum says, “I think they’re really important” before going on to say, “I think people get lost in thinking about the main [national] elections but the local elections affect you, because it’s your local area.” She did however say she “was a bit disillusioned as to who to vote for” but wants to make a positive difference “for my little one.”

In contrast Jim, 63, a ‘Big Issue’ vendor originally from Scotland, doesn’t think the local elections make a difference and won’t be voting. He says, “they are all the same…I’ve given the Conservatives and Labour a chance, but they all mess up.”

Lesley Watkinson, 83, who is retired, will be taking part in the election this Thursday, and says he will be voting for Labour. “The Labour people make an effort even if it’s on a Sunday afternoon…you never see the Conservatives, the Liberals or The Green Party.” However, he went on to say that he was sceptical about whether it made a difference to politics on a national level.

“Think national, act local.”

So, with about 4,360 seats up for grabs on 146 councils across England, just how important are these local elections? The leader of Norwich City Council, Alan Waters (Labour), strongly believes they are crucial to life in the local area.

He says “councils are the closest democratic body to local people”, dealing with services such as “leisure, parks, public health” and even “gaining investment in the city which provides new job opportunities.”

He went on to say that councils like Norwich City Council play a crucial role in “tackling the big challenges” including the “cost of living crisis” and “areas around getting to net-zero to tackle the environmental challenge.”

“All the big national and international issues have a resonance at a very local level…think global, act local, think national, act local.”