Have your say in this year’s local elections!
By Mikey Bee
With the local elections coming up on 7th May, I thought, as a former candidate, it may be worth me jotting down a few notes. I cannot and will not tell you who not to vote for, I have my own opinions. Your vote is your vote and it is entirely your choice, but there are ways of helping you choose in what is becoming an even more confusing landscape.
First, keep in mind what these elections are for. You are voting for the people you want to run your local council, rather than the national Government. This is about who runs your local services. Education, some transport, leisure services, libraries, anti-social behaviour prevention, waste management, social and care services, support services, public toilets, parks and gardens. All of these and more have some direct local authority input and are worth looking into. LGBT Hero provides additional information.
Be careful here, although councillors can lobby Transport for London or the local NHS, they have limited influence over then, the former sits with the Mayor of London and the latter with NHS England, Department of Health and Social Care and its Ministers. So not all local problems or issues sit with the local council.
Research is your friend here, find out if the council is responsible for an issue to be sure that once elected, candidates can deliver on what they promise. There is nothing wrong in them saying they will back the needs of people and take complaints to the relevant authorities, but they should be aware of councillors’ limited authority to implement actions themselves in these cases.
Meeting candidates can be daunting, we hold those that seek office to some form of high standard and that affects our confidence when in their presence, try to keep calm if you see them out campaigning, approach them politely but be firm and clear in what you want to say. Show that you have understood what the issues are. Quote figures, reports or things you have read. And remember candidates may also be nervous too!
If you want to ask questions but feel uncomfortable declaring yourself LGBTQI+, make the question one that has appeal across a greater range of people. You could ask about all of the different people covered specifically by the Equalities Act and how the Council could support making connections and promoting understanding across our communities by supporting community venues that everyone can use.
Think inclusivity not exclusivity. We are not LGBTQI+ people in isolation, we are also people that have social needs, care needs, health and welfare needs that cut across all parts of society, so asking questions on this basis does not automatically mean that you have to make personal declarations. In fact, due to the lack of visibility of the LGBTQI+ community locally, your question may gain better traction if it includes a wider range of people. A candidate who does not seem to have general community values is probably not going to be supportive of LGBTQI+ issues.
If you want to ask them about LGBTQI+ issues it may be best to relate this to local issues. For example, good health outcomes amongst LGBTQI+ people in the area are lower than expected. This is also true of older people and disabled people. You could ask how a candidate would bring about positive change in this area?
Or it might be helpful to think about your own personal journey, what happened at various stages of your life? What schools did you go to, how were you treated? What medical staff have you met, how were you treated? Have you cared for someone, and what help did you get? Do you use the libraries? Were you a member of the Scouts or Guides? Do you use leisure centres, libraries, parks etc? How did you feel about all of these things, what improvements would you like to see?
You could also tell them about the different activities of Redbridge Rainbow and that it would be very helpful if they could share this information with residents and services. Activities include regular creative meet-ups for LGBTQ+ people and walks for LGBTQ+ people and allies, support for parents of LGBTQ+ people, Redbridge Pride and LGBTQ+ training and support for local health and care services. Ask them to contact Redbridge Rainbow on info@redbridgerainbowcommunity.org.uk if they would like more information.
The most important thing is that you vote, not voting is giving those that do get in a free ride, be invested! Register to vote by 20 April to be able to vote on 7 May.
