They will listen if we use our feet and vote elsewhere. You have to weigh up the odds - do you want to make a statement on the issues you feel are the most important, does it matter to you which party gets in out of the 2 main parties and if so, then you may wish to vote for one in order to make sure the other one doesn't get in (not a vote of confidence as such, but rather a vote to try to exclude one party). You could vote for the candidate in your area who supports what you believe in or perhaps has done the most for your area, if they have a track record. It's all confusing to me too, as I'm floating but from where I stand....I've seen that the Council is closely aligned with a political party (whether it's this current Council or the previous ones) and if local policies align with national ones and if I'm impressed or happy that they care about residents, then I'm inclined to vote for that party nationally. At the moment, we residents are faced with huge blocks of flats possibly blighting Acton south side of the A40 and I'm waiting to see if our current Council (Labour) respect its current residents and veto the Friary Park skyscraper of 20 storeys. If not, I know I won't be voting Labour nationally or locally and will campaign to make sure no-one else does either, when the next local elections arrive. Hope that helps.
Angela White ● 4161d