3000

No, I’m not quoting the Busted song – this is the approximate electorate for this year’s Lib Dem Local Government Association Group Elections! It’s a number of councillors that only a few years ago would have looked completely inconceivable and it’s a testament to the hard work of councillors and campaigners across the country that we’re in range of overtaking the Tories as the 2^nd largest party in local government.

Our 2025 cohort join us during the most critical time for local councils in over 50 years with Local Government Reorganisation and local budgets stretched to the absolute limit. We now have 76 council leaders (we might need some new giant numbers for Autumn Conference…) managing billions in council budgets and countless opposition groups holding their administrations to account while fighting for a new structure of local government that can still deliver for our residents. No pressure!

Who we elect as our leadership at the LGA is central to ensuring that we have the powers and the money to shape our communities, working with the Government where we can and taking them to task when they push to transfer even more power to Whitehall. While we know who most of our group officers will be (congratulations to Joe Harris, Bridget Smith and Heather Kidd on their re-election), we also need to decide who will represent us when negotiating key areas of LGA policy – fighting for effective regulatory powers, planning policy that works for our communities and funding for children’s services.

Though we might not chair the LGA, we have the opportunity to build relationships with colleagues across local government and make sure that Labour and Tory members don’t fold in the face of pressure from their Westminster colleagues or the soon-to-be formed Reform UK LGA Group. We can bring the successes of Lib Dem groups across the country to the forefront and continue to advocate for liberal policies that actually work.

The Lib Dems are leading the fight for real, local government. While Labour and the Conservatives pander to Reform, we’re meeting them head-on – and if recent by-elections are anything to go by, we are the only antidote to their message. Please take 10 minutes to help decide who will lead us for the next two years.

Voting closes at 9am on Thursday 19^th June.

All Lib Dem councillors on principal authority councils in membership of the LGA should have received an email with the subject “Your voting link for the LGA Liberal Democrat Group elections.” If you haven’t, send an email to [email protected].

You can find a list of candidates here and more info about the LGA Lib Dem Group here.

* Kieron is a Chelmsford City Councillor and serves as the chair of the Essex Lib Dems. He was a PPC in the 2024 General Election and the Lib Dem candidate for the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.