Local elections: every Dorset council seat is up for grabs

Millions of voters will have their last chance to vote on Thursday before the general election. Around 2,600

council

ors will be elected in 107

local

authorities across England. Labor is expected to make gains and some polls predict the Conservatives could lose around half of the

seat

s they hold. We are arguing that there will also be

elections

for 10 metropolitan mayors, mainly in the Midlands or the north of England and, in addition, throughout Wales and almost all of England. The police and crime commissioners will stand for re-election on May 2. Our Home Affairs correspondent, Andy. Davis has been in Dorset, where all Council

seat

s are up for

grabs

and the Liberal Democrats hope to wrest control from the Conservatives.

Dorset, all the

council

seats in this vast, largely rural county are up for

grabs

next week and the Lib Dems spy a chance to take control. Of the Conservatives, the Conservatives, in turn, are so wary of the party's wider issues at Westminster that their council leader recently urged Tor MPS to stay away - a position he tells me he has reconsidered - but? Why were you saying to stay away because we were worried about what? the national picture, I mean the national picture right now, we all agree, it could be better, right? And that applies to all matches, not just one match, it could be better.

I mean, some people predict that the conservative party could lose. hundreds of seats in these

local

elections

and that, in turn, could perhaps trigger a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister. I think the key is that I think that's how Wilson coined the phrase "one week, a long time in politics, they're going to the In Thursday's polls, the Liberal Democrats, the second largest party, are backing him. They've been frustrated by the recent successes in the by-elections in the south-west of England, once so characterized as a liberal Heartland. Do you think you can unseat the Conservatives?

I think we have a very good chance of having a majority and people who know about these things? It is telling us that the numbers at the gates are very positive. Is there a risk of overconfidence here that if there is a large anti-Tory vote it could be divided between several parties It could be done, but historically the Liberal Democrats have done so? gone very, very well in Dorset. What is the message from the Liberal Democrats? We are looking for a fur deal for Dorset both nationally and locally. We have got a huge housing crisis here, you know, a multiplier. 12 times the average salary and houses in Dorset are not affordable for most people here.

Dorset has a larger than average population so the cost of social care continues to rise, the Tories' message here as so many councils face financial pressures which they have handled relatively well if you look around you, the Council has not cut any service, we have not used reserves to balance budgets, which is almost unheard of across the country, what is the Conservatives' message to voters? I think the key, the key message for me is, why take the risk? You know you've seen what we've done. We have a track record we can confirm if the Conservatives can hold power on a council.

An area like this is just one of many intriguing political contests that will unfold next week and what happens in this Council, as elsewhere, will be watched very closely to see what it might tell us about the public mood ahead. as the general elections get closer and closer. you're going to vote in local elections, of course, always do it, are they local issues or national issues for you, well, local c, local issues, really, isn't it national more than anything? I guess what's going to influence how you vote, uh, two things. the economy and I guess immigration policy and the success of border control waiting for this with the NHS, yeah, housing, um, that's something they haven't worked out yet.

I have an answer, it's dust, there is no dust, Burns yes. you are not in a tourist area of ​​the city, if no one gets an absolute majority and supports it, then some of the smaller parties could be instrumental in forming any new administration for the greens, the impact of climate change on coastal areas it's too obvious and the need to send a broader message in these elections is urgent, we know we're in a crisis, we've just had, you know, 2023 was the hottest year on record, the more Green councilors are elected across the country , sends a signal to the biggest parties that this is critical this is dangerous instead of reducing their commitments to tackle climate change, they need to increase them now the message from the unions they support it council tax argue it is too high Westminster needs to distribute the local government funds More equitably, we have the same problems as anywhere else in the country with homeless housing, but we have to pay more for it, so we need to make sure council tax is distributed fairly. a little bit fairer way so we can address the problem. problems and where there are problems those who hope to increase the presence of independent advisors in the authority point out flaws in the old policy of the Party.

I think what happened with some MPs and ministers at a national level has not gone down very well with the local population, which I think I think is why they are moving away from political parties to a certain extent and I was just looking last night and at the level Nationally there are quite a few independent MPs who can be seen in the next election and an increase in numbers there saying we have had enough of politics. parties Dorset is one of the 107 town councils that will hold elections on Thursday, the image that is about to emerge in these hotbeds of the English electoral landscape in a timely and perhaps very significant political barometer