1 Produced for Electoral Education Ltd The Impartial source for ‘Active Citizenship’ - Democracy

2 Local Council Elections - June 2004 Page 2 Index Page 3 What does a Council do? Page 4 What are the Council’s priorities Page 5 Who runs the Council? Page 8 What is a Returning Officer? Page 9 What is the Electoral Register? Page 9 How can I get on the Register Page 10 All Postal Voting Page 11 Security of Postal Voting Page 12 What are Wards? Page 14 Exercises using Page 18 Student Councils Page 20 Council for Young People Page 21 Youth Parliament Page 22 Democracy and what it means to YOU Page 27 About Electoral Education

3 North East Lincolnshire is known as a Unitary Authority. This means that the Council is in charge of:  Education  The Environment  Public Housing  Care for the vulnerable: the elderly and children  Planning

4 The Council works with partners in the community to try to make sure that North East Lincolnshire is a safe, healthy and thriving place in which to live, learn and work. If you visit the Council's website on you will see how the Council has decided its priorities and how it plans to deliver on its promises to the community. Find out:  What are the Council's priorities  What plans it has made to deliver on its promises

5 The Council is made up of 42 elected members. The elected members decide how they will spend the money available to them from central government grants and local council taxes. Most elected members are associated with the national political parties such as Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrats, though some are independent from national political parties.

6 At the moment there are: 16 Conservative members 15 Liberal Democrat members 6 Labour members 5 Independent members

7 Visit the ELECT website on Find out:  who is the Leader of the Council - what party?  who is the Deputy Leader of the Council - what party?  what did they say needed to be done before they were elected in 2003?  who is the Opposition Leader of the Council?

8 When elections are to be held, a Returning Officer is appointed to act as the impartial overseer and has undisputed authority over the administration of the election build up, operation, the final count of votes cast and announcement of the winning candidate. The decisions taken by the Returning Officer can only be overturned by a court of law.

9 To be able to vote in an election a resident has to meet certain requirements to be placed on the Electoral Register. This is kept by the Electoral Registration Officer operating from the Law and Democratic Services Department in the local council offices. If you are over 16 why not Register NOW! See

10 This year as agreed by a vote of both Houses of Parliament in London all votes cast in North East Lincolnshire local election 2004 will be by Postal Ballot. This means that the historical method of casting your vote by visiting your local Polling Station (often at school premises) has been dropped. The ballot forms will be posted to every person on the Electoral Roll to be completed secretly and returned to the Returning Officer before Polling Day.

11 Security of postal voting is worrying many, as the opportunities for influencing how a person votes is increased and could cause the wrong candidate to be elected. Accordingly, the Electoral Commission has issued a code of conduct in respect of all postal ballots. Additionally,the Returning Officer is obliged to refer any evidence of fraud to the Police.

12 North East Lincolnshire is divided into 15 Wards and the community in each ward elects two or three members who will represent them on the Council. In May 2004 in the 12 wards with three members, the elected member who had the fewest votes in 2003 has to stand down and can apply for re-election. At this time other people may offer themselves as ward candidates.

13 The community decides by voting whether to re-elect their standing member or to elect someone different. The result can alter the balance of political power of the Council. This may mean that the Council makes different decisions on how the Authority should be run.

14 Visit the ELECT website on Find out:  the ward you live in (You can do this by typing in your postcode)  which elected members represent your ward  which elected member in your ward is standing for re- election  who are the candidates who are also standing for election

15 Find out:  what the candidates think are the important issues  what the candidates are saying they will do  which standing members are in the most danger of being voted out (making them target or marginal seats)

16 Exercises 1.If you were able to vote, who would you vote for and why? 2.If you were able to stand as a candidate in the ward in which you live:  what would you say are the important issues?  how would you tackle these issues?  how would you spend the money that the Council has?  would you affiliate with a political party? If so which one? Or would you stand as an independent? Explain your decision.

17 3.EITHER Work with a group of four or five students, one of you act as a radio or TV questioner, the rest act as candidates. Set up an interview/discussion to see who is the most convincing candidate. OR Work by yourself. Act as a candidate and design a 3 minute 'party political broadcast'. If you have audio or video facilities then record your broadcast.

18 4. As a class, choose 3 or 4 students who are prepared to act as candidates. Choose one student to act as a neutral chair person. Set up the candidates and chair person at the front and let the rest of the class ask questions – like 'Question Time' on television. End the session by taking a vote on who would be the best candidate.

19 Young people have a voice too All schools have a student council with members elected from and by the student body. Student councils allow students to express their views to staff and governors and help the school make decisions that bring about improvement. When schools are inspected, the inspection team checks that student views are listened to and acted on.

20 Many schools will list the members of their student council on their web-site and report on the meetings of the student council. Student councils can vote students onto the local council for young people (CfYP). Members of the CfYP are represented on the local Children’s and Young People’s Strategic Partnership. In this way their views are heard by Council Members, Council Officers and the Council’s partners, including Health and Police.

21 Find out:  about the Council for Young People at  what the CYP thinks are the important issues for young people how the CYP have an effect on the Children’s and Young People’s Strategic Partnership by reading the notes of meetings at

22 Each year the CYP elects one member to represent them as a Member of the Youth Parliament (MYP). This national body meets directly with government ministers and senior civil servants.

23 Some serious bits Democracy has been described as a way in which a community makes important decisions ‘by the people and for the people’. Typically, we elect people from our community to make these decisions on our behalf. That is why it is important to listen carefully to those candidates who stand for election.  is what they think important, important to you ?  do they represent your views on the sort of community you want?  will they be able to deliver on any promises they make ?

24 If the answer is ‘yes’ to all these questions then it is important you vote for them. Remember that the person with the most votes will be elected so your vote counts. If the answers to these questions are unclear then ask the candidate some more detailed questions either directly or by using .

25 If none of the candidates represents your views then seriously consider proposing another candidate - or why not stand yourself ? Not taking part at all mean you have not exercised one of your most important rights as a citizen. It leaves the way open for others to make the sort of decisions that you may disagree with.

26 North East Lincolnshire Council is committed to listening to the community and acting on its views and advice. It has recently renewed its commitment to listening to young people. A good Council will make decisions that make a better today. A very good Council will not only make a better today but ensure a better tomorrow. Young people are the citizens of tomorrow and are needed now to design that better tomorrow.

27 Listening to and acting on your views is critical to the future of North East Lincolnshire. Whether it is through your student council, the council for young people, the children and young people’s strategic partnership, or through interest in local elections, the message is clear; GET INVOLVED. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

28 About ‘ELECT’ Electoral Education is a private company working in partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council, based in Grimsby. Its aim is to promote and stimulate democratic participation and provide impartial electoral advice. ‘Active Citizenship’ was a project funded by the Electoral Commission in 2003 to stimulate interest and interaction during the last local elections in North East Lincolnshire. Electoral Education is actively involved with local elections, the elected regional assembly’s referenda and the European debate.

29 Further information about ELECT and its work can be found on Copyright Electoral Education Ltd