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.