In the news

Conservative MPs fear the furore over the Chancellor’s tax affairs will worsen their prospects at the local elections, with the public already angry at the cost of living crisis and Downing Street parties held during Covid-19 lockdowns. Meanwhile, senior Conservatives have called for ministers working in the Government’s economic and business departments to publish their tax returns to show they were paying their fair share. This comes as Boris Johnson gave the green light to an investigation into Rishi Sunak’s financial interests. Lord Geidt, the independent adviser, was set to look at whether Mr Sunak properly declared financial interests following a string of disclosures. However, it was reported last night that Lord Geidt has already cleared Mr Sunak of wrongdoing. Treasury sources insisted Mr Sunak had fully disclosed both his wife’s non-dom status and his green card when he was appointed, but that officials had decided that there was no need for this information to be made public. “We don’t write the rules. We just follow them”, they said.

Financial Times | The Daily Telegraph | The Times | The Times

The Daily Mail reports on speculation about an “informal non-aggression pact” between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats in the upcoming local elections, with each party reportedly standing in a minority of seats in areas where the other represents the main challenger to the Conservatives. A senior Conservative source claims that “it is quite clear that Labour and the Lib Dems are trying to give each other a clear run in areas where they think one of them has the best chance”, in what they claim “looks like a trial run for the next election and them laying the groundwork for some sort of coalition”. Both parties have denied collusion, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reportedly having called for the party to “ruthlessly focus” on its top target seats.

Daily Mail

The Independent looks at the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the upcoming local elections, weighed against other issues like the Ukraine war. A recent poll saw 45% of Britons say reducing living costs should be a priority for the Government, although pollster and Conservative peer Lord Hayward says that while there is “a perception that the Spring Statement was a disaster, but if you look at opinion polling in the last two weeks it doesn’t appear to have had an impact. The polls have been roughly static, with a narrow Labour lead.” For more on the impact of the Spring Statement and the rising cost of living, read LGIU’s briefing here.

The Independent

Peers have defeated the Government over measures in the Elections Bill that would require voters to show photo ID. Peers voted by 199 to 170 to expand the range of documents people could present to get their ballot paper for parliamentary, local, and PCC elections in England and Wales. While the Government has said those without an approved form of ID will be able to get one from their local council, former Conservative minister Lord Willetts proposed an amendment that would make more forms of ID acceptable, such as library cards and student or workplace ID cards – saying the danger was that “hundreds of voters per constituency” could be turned away from polling stations. “Imagine if the outcome of the next election is a modest majority”, he said, “where throughout the day the media story has been voters being turned away from polling stations. That seems to me a very significant political and constitutional risk that does need to be taken into account if this measure is introduced.”

BBC News

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has launched the party’s London local election campaign in Barnet, with the Evening Standard noting that the party has set its sights on “totemic Tory boroughs like Barnet, Westminster and Wandsworth – which have been Conservative for 44 years”. Sir Keir said: “Over the past 12 years the Tories have slashed funds for local government but the biggest cuts in the country are being forced on London. Londoners have a chance to send the Tories a message they cannot ignore – that the public deserves better than their pathetic response to a cost of living crisis.”

BBC News | Evening Standard

Campaigners have raised the issue of representation after it emerged that less than a third of the candidates for North Yorkshire County Council in the local elections are women. A spokesperson for the Conservative Whitby and Scarborough group said its selection policy was “absolutely gender-neutral” and only one woman who stood was not selected. In Richmond, a Liberal Democrat spokesperson said women face more practical and emotional barriers, with many already juggling family and work commitments. While a Labour spokesperson in the area said the gender imbalance is partly because established councillors, most of whom are male, are more likely to be selected due to their experience. “We have a policy of pushing women forward, but as a small party it’s more a matter of finding who is willing to stand,” a Green spokesperson added.

BBC News

A Savanta ComRes poll – commissioned by the Liberal Democrats – has indicated that one in four voters could be less likely to vote Conservative in local elections next month because of the hike in national insurance. And even one in five traditional Tory voters said the 1.25 percentage point rise could put them off supporting the party, according to the survey of 2,203 UK adults.

BBC News | Daily Mail

Historian and author Jim Hunter writes in the Press and Journal ahead of the local elections notes that it was recently revealed that “several parts of the north will have no elections – candidates having already been returned unopposed” – and argues that a “lack of folk prepared to stand for office is a pointer to local government in Scotland being in a far from healthy state”. One contributing factor, he says, is that Scotland’s local authorities “aren’t very local”, using the example of Highland Council, whose Inverness HQ “is over 100 miles by (often not very good) road from many of the communities the council is meant to serve”. “Might it be time for some updated version of the older set-up to be restored”, he asks, “one that would bring power closer to people while giving focus and identity to communities where these things are all too often missing?”

The Press and Journal

The Scottish Government is to launch a consultation on plans to lower the minimum age of election candidacy. It could see youngsters aged 16 and 17 able to stand as candidates in local and national elections. The plans are part of a wider Programme for Government, which will seek consultation on a number of electoral reforms. Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick, the youngest member of the Scottish Parliament at the age of 24, welcomed the move. She said: “Having spent time in both the Highland Council chamber and Holyrood, I know first-hand what a difference it makes when you have a diverse group of voices. Between technological advances, societal change, and impactful events like Covid, people under 30 now have had a very different experience growing up, finding housing and employment, and becoming adults than those from previous generations.”

STV

Environmental group Friends of the Earth Scotland has urged local election candidates across Scotland to back a number of environmental policies in their campaigns. Head of campaigns Mary Church says many powers “to drive action on the climate crisis sit with local councils, which is why this vote matters so much”. “Councillors must put people and the planet at the head of all the decisions they make”, she said, “This means making it easier and more affordable to take public transport by running services in the interest of passengers rather than shareholders, helping people to reduce and recycle their waste, and planning for the vital phase-out of incineration.”

The Press and Journal 

The Herald looks at the challenges facing Scotland’s councillors – and the factors that are seeing dozens of elected members, many elected for the first time in 2017, stand down at this year’s local elections. A COSLA survey earlier this year found that councillors work an average of 38.6 hours per week at an hourly rate lower than the living wage. Glasgow City Council member Cllr Maggie McTernan, one of those who is standing down this year, says it is “not an amount you can live on”. “Either you need support from someone else in your household who is bringing in an income or you need to have another job”, which can be a challenge with the irregular hours demanded of councillors. Councillors have also raised concerns over abuse on social media, and over a partisan and sometimes antagonistic political culture. City of Edinburgh Council member Cllr Nick Cook, who is also standing down, says low pay leads to “candidates that are less able and possibly wouldn’t be employable elsewhere or are retired and wealthy so the money doesn’t matter. Neither of these things make for representative or effective local government.” Read LGIU’s personal safety guidance for councillors here.

Herald Scotland

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has made a campaign visit to Govanhill ahead of the local elections, saying the UK Government’s response to a cost of living crisis that has left people “terrified to open their bills” highlights the need for Scotland to achieve independence. The Scottish Government, she said, “is already doing what we can to ease the burden on hard-pressed families and, if elected, SNP councillors will prioritise the cost of living crisis in Scotland’s council chambers – but we cannot let the Tories away with disgraceful inaction while households are forced into poverty.” Facing criticism from opposition parties over the exclusion of print media from the event, Ms Sturgeon said the party’s formal manifesto launch will be held next week, adding that in recent years she had “probably answered more questions – rightly, it’s my job – from journalists than any other politician in the entirety of the UK”.

The Courier | Dunfermline Press | Forres Gazette | Herald Scotland | The Daily Record | The Press and Journal | The Scotsman

Joining the campaign trail ahead of the local elections in Scotland, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has insisted there will never be a coalition between his party and the SNP. Speaking in Glasgow, he said there would be “no deal” between the two parties either for next month’s council election or for a future general election. Sir Keir was backing Scottish Labour leader Ana Sarwar’s decision to rule out a coalition with the SNP on Glasgow City Council. Meanwhile, Fife Council’s Labour co-leader David Ross, who leads the authority alongside the SNP’s David Alexander, said his party will unlikely be able to win a majority in Fife but hinted his group could look to establish an informal “working arrangement.”

The Courier | Herald Scotland | The Scotsman

The Observer looks at Scottish Labour’s prospects in the local elections under leader Anas Sarwar, with recent polls having “consistently shown Labour coming second in Scotland” behind the SNP, overtaking the Scottish Conservatives. Mr Sarwar tells the paper that he is confident that Scottish Labour “is back on the pitch”, and is “starting to resonate with people again”. However, he said, there is “still a very long way to travel”, and that while the “latest trends are positive … I’m not in this to come second.” You can read LGIU’s guide to the local elections here.

The Observer

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has launched the party’s local election manifesto – saying the focus of the campaign must not be on the “bitter division of the past”, but on helping people through the cost of living crisis. The “difficult choice between heating and eating is not about political debate”, he said, “it’s a real lived experience for thousands of our fellow citizens every single day”. The party has pledged to introduce a windfall tax on oil and gas giants to fund cuts to household bills of up to £600, along with cuts to rail and bus fares that could save someone commuting from Glasgow to Edinburgh £400 a month. Questioned on whether the party could regain control of Glasgow City Council, he said: “I want us to win Labour councils, I want us to make Labour gains in terms of both councillors and councils, and I think if you look at the last five years, what’s happened in Glasgow City Council, you can see the difference a Labour council makes.”

STV | BBC News | BBC News | Glasgow Evening Times | Herald Scotland | The Daily Record | The Press and Journal

The Scottish Greens have launched their manifesto for the local elections. Party co-leader Lorna Slater said there is a need for councils to focus on traffic reduction and public transport plans. The manifesto includes Green councillors supporting improved bus services and re-opening railways, ensuring all authorities have a zero-waste plan by 2025 and make free childcare hours more flexible. The blueprint also commits Green councillors to support immediately cancelling all outstanding debt owed by families for school meals and support introducing a workplace parking levy “in areas where this would be appropriate and beneficial.”

BBC News | The Courier | Herald Scotland

The Alba Party has launched its local election campaign in Aberdeenshire, with seven council candidates joined by party leader Alex Salmond at St Fergus Gas Terminal. Mr Salmond said that a third of Aberdeenshire households “are right now being plunged into fuel poverty in the all-energy capital of Europe” is a “national scandal which cannot be allowed to stand”. “The reality”, he said, “is that our resources are controlled by international capital, the revenues are appropriated by Westminster and Scots are left to pick up the tab. As Aberdeenshire families shiver this April, Alba’s council candidates vow to campaign for change.”

The Press and Journal

Our one-stop shop of the most pertinent local elections resources for you and your teams are now available here. Each week, we’ll be adding the fresh analysis and coverage you’ve come to expect from us across key election themes including: public trust, covid safety, transparency, personal safety and diversity. Sign up today so you never miss an update.

This short safety guide will help you assess risk and adopt strategies and behaviours that will minimise any potential hazards that might be identified as part of a councillor’s role. It has been updated to include information on canvassing and Covid-19. Read our safety guide here.

We are running a number of dedicated online training sessions to support newly or recently elected councillors after the local elections. Both our pre and post-training is delivered online and range in length from a couple of hours to a full day. We can also develop a catered in-house training programme for your council, please just get in touch. Check out our full post-election training programme here.