The 16 new One Party States (projections)
Council
|
Current % of Council held by one party
|
Likely % after 2014 elections
|
Islington
|
72.9
|
93.4
|
Lewisham
|
72.2
|
92.3
|
Nuneaton and Bedworth
|
73.5
|
84.8
|
Lambeth
|
69.8
|
84.1
|
Lincoln
|
72.7
|
81.8
|
Hastings
|
71.9
|
81.3
|
Sheffield
|
70.2
|
80.9
|
Bury
|
70.6
|
80.4
|
Rochdale
|
70
|
80
|
Ipswich
|
66.7
|
79.2
|
Warrington
|
71.9
|
78.9
|
Wolverhampton
|
73.3
|
78.3
|
Oldham
|
72.9
|
78
|
Bassetlaw
|
70.1
|
77.1
|
Blackburn with Darwen
|
70.3
|
75
|
Rossendale
|
66.7
|
75
|
Darren Hughes, Deputy Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: “This week’s local elections should be a celebration of democracy, participation and choice. Instead, over three million more people will find themselves coming under the control of local authorities utterly dominated by one political party. If this dominance were a reflection of the votes cast on Thursday, then there wouldn’t be any problem. But the sad truth is that One Party States are almost never based on a popular mandate equal to the dominance of the party.
Continuing Darren Hughes commented: “Often One Party States become complacent owing to the lack of effective opposition. This can lead to poor government, which is ultimately bad for voters as it undermines the council’s ability to provide a good service for the community. We need to introduce a fairer voting system for local elections – one which gives voters the chance to be represented by candidates for whom they have actually voted. Local electoral reform would be good for voters, in that it would give them real choice. And it would be good for the quality of local democracy itself, making councils better scrutinised, more transparent and therefore more effective.
Concluding Darren Hughes said: “In Scotland, the local electoral system was changed to the Single Transferable Vote in 2007. Since then, One Party States have become a thing of the past. We need to do the same in England and Wales, so that voters get the politicians they want, and the democracy they deserve.”