These local elections matter: they could send a shockwave to Westminster | Polly Toynbee

Tory losses would send the message that council services must be protected, and that Britain demands an end to austerity

The streets of London are not ablaze with posters or other signs there are local elections on this week, as in 150 councils around the country. Yet in a surprisingly optimistic report out today, Hansard says intention to vote is at an all-time high of 62%, with voter engagement with politics higher than ever. But that determination to vote may be stymied by an alarming fall in voter registration. According to Equifax analysis, 197 local authorities saw a drop in the last year: Newcastle down 7%, Mole Valley down 5%.

The shift to individual voter registration risked knocking out the young, students no longer registered by universities, renters and ethnic minorities. The voter ID pilot this week will show whether yet another gerrymander in the voting system deters those – more likely to be Labour – arriving at polling stations without passports or driving licences.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Fqe52w