Conservatives have the drive to fill our political vacuum

A WEIRD idiosyncrasy in politics is that although they often suffer abysmal turn-outs, council elections determine the things that matter the most.

- Josh Coldspring-White

You only have to look at the horrific images of piled-up rubbish in bankrupt Birmingham to understand why town halls have a pivotal impact on our day-to-day lives.

But even after years of funding cuts and austerity measures, local authorities have the potential and responsibility to get things right. And when they do, they can have a transformative impact on their communities — which is a huge opportunity for the Tory Party.

My own council in Bromley, South London, where I serve as a Conservative member, is currently running a regeneration programme on our libraries and leisure centres.

We are delivering a strategy to ameliorate loneliness, enhancing our environment by planting 5,000 trees over the course of four years — and still managing to keep our Council Tax rates low compared with neighbouring authorities.

Residents tell me they feel they live in a secure, vibrant and safe corner of Britain. And, trust me, when you're on the doorsteps asking people for their vote, this kind of response makes all the difference.