This year’s local election results were brutal not just for Labour and Conservatives but also small local parties like the Coventry Citizens Party. Voters appear to have rejected localism in favour of nationalism in a radical protest vote across the country.
I was the local UKIP chairman from 2017-19 and stood in the 2017 general election in Coventry South. We reached millions of people across the country on Facebook and I came up with the party’s main Brexit slogan which also influenced the other major parties. Nigel Farage also launched The Brexit Party in Coventry in 2019 due to the UKIP branch’s popularity and reach on Facebook.
However, UKIP couldn’t compete with The Brexit Party so I decided to set-up the Coventry Citizens Party in 2019 to separate local and national politics. We steadily increased our support by campaigning on local issues and achieved 40% of the vote in our target ward in 2024 narrowly missing out by less than 60 votes.
Unfortunately, many of our former candidates decided to stand for Reform in 2026. This meant we were only able to field 4 candidates in Coventry and received around 3% of the vote. We have also previously stood candidates in neighbouring Nuneaton & Bedworth but our support has dramatically collapsed due to the momentum behind national parties.
Sadly, many voters seem to have little or no interest in what local councils do because the media only focus on national politics which makes local politics seem irrelevant. There is also not much enthusiasm for local history, community, culture or place in relation to local democracy and how councils work. The main issue people seem to angrily associate with local politics is potholes.
Furthermore, many residents don’t know the name of the electoral ward they live in or the names of their local councillors. This does not give people a strong sense of community or democratic place beyond going to the local shop or taking the kids to school. Voters tend to vote for national parties which they think represent them instead of addressing local issues.
Disappointingly, voters responded to our local policies including improving local bus services and updating electoral ward names following recent boundary changes with hostility and abuse. This was very surprising. We have also had to contend with a total local media ban and the other parties blocking us from joining local Facebook groups.
Following the overwhelming success of Rupert Lowe’s local party Great Yarmouth First (part of Restore Britain), campaigners say the party’s strategy was to focus on an area where the constituents have got to know Rupert Lowe. Campaigners also say this is “a formula that has legs and can be carried out throughout the rest of the country.”
However, this may not be as successful in other parts of the country without a well-known MP like Rupert Lowe. This is because the success of candidates elected for Great Yarmouth First clearly relied upon the popularity of Rupert Lowe.
Moreover, voters have used the local elections as a protest or referendum on the national government instead of focusing on local issues. However, there was still strong support for the traditional two main parties but this is not indicative of people voting on local issues. In addition, voters in Great Yarmouth voted for a local party by name which is still part of a nationalist movement.
Unfortunately, we cannot compete with national politics and presidential style elections where voters are not thinking about local issues. Sadly, we have decided to deregister the Coventry Citizens Party after 7 years of campaigning and we won’t be standing candidates in any future elections.
Is this the death of local politics?