With council elections taking place next month, Vasiliki Papadima reminds us why voting matters

A polling station sign — Photo: Mark Brown

Many of the decisions that shape everyday life in Barnet are made not in Westminster but in the local council chamber. Yet far fewer people vote in local elections than in national ones. In Barnet’s 2022 local election, turnout was just 37.9%, and in some wards it was even lower, including 27.4% in Burnt Oak.

In boroughs like Barnet, the council plays a direct role in shaping the environment people live in and the services they depend on. Decisions about housing, planning, public services and social care are made locally. These are not distant political questions. They influence the streets people walk through, the services families rely on and the support available to vulnerable residents.

Housing and planning decisions are one of the clearest examples of how local councils shape everyday life. In 2025, Barnet Council adopted a new Local Plan that will guide development in the borough until 2036 and aims to deliver around 44,000 new homes.

Plans like this influence where housing is built, how neighbourhoods change and what infrastructure will be needed as the population grows. When fewer people vote in local elections, fewer residents are involved in choosing the councillors who ultimately make these long-term decisions.

Large regeneration projects show this influence even more clearly. One of the most significant is Brent Cross Town, a redevelopment project expected to deliver around 6,700 homes alongside offices, parks and community spaces.

The project is also expected to support thousands of jobs in the area. Decisions of this scale show how council planning choices shape economic opportunities, housing supply and the physical landscape of a borough for decades.

Local government is also responsible for many of the services people rely on most, from social care to local community support. When money is tight, councillors have to decide what to protect, what to reduce and what may have to wait.

Barnet has already faced these choices. In late 2024, the council said it was dealing with serious financial pressure, particularly from rising housing and social care costs. Local political decisions are therefore not just about figures on a page. They shape the support available to residents and the quality of services people rely on every day. The council warned that this pressure could also slow the delivery of some services and projects.

In March, the council approved its budget for the 2026/27 financial year while facing significant financial pressure, particularly from rising housing costs and increasing demand for social care. The budget included a 2.98% increase in general council tax and a further 2% adult social care precept.

While it is often the council, not parliament, that makes the choices people feel most directly in daily life, low turnout can also affect political representation. In the UK’s ‘first past the post’ system, the party that receives the most votes in each ward wins the seat on the council. When fewer residents participate, it becomes easier for one party to dominate the council even if other viewpoints exist within the community.

The word ‘democracy’ itself comes from the Greek words demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning power. When turnout is low, that political power can end up being exercised by a relatively small share of the population.

That is why local elections matter. When people vote for councillors, they are also choosing the people who decide how local money is spent and which services are treated as priorities. When turnout is low, major local decisions can end up being shaped by only a small share of the electorate. That is exactly why local democracy deserves more attention, not less.

As Barnet approaches its local elections on Thursday, 7th May, it is worth treating them with the attention they deserve.

Council decisions may not dominate national headlines, but they shape the places people live, the services they rely on and the future of the borough itself. Residents who want more information about the election, including how to register and where to vote, can find it on the Barnet Council website.

To check whether they are already registered, residents can contact Barnet Electoral Services at [email protected] or on 020 8359 5577 or go to:

https://www.barnet.gov.uk/elections-and-voting/local-government-elections-thursday-7-may-2026

Registering to vote takes only a few minutes and can be completed online. Readers can scan the QR code below to register directly.

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