Sheffield for Democracy is an informal group set up by local campaigners. We seek to engage and encourage greater participation of the public in democracy. We are not politically aligned to any party, and welcome supporters of all political parties or none.
Voting in elections, especially in local elections, is a current issue: in the voting itself and in the requirements on how to identify yourself as a valid voter. So that is the major part of this Update. But first, a couple of things that we have been working on.
Public Participation
We have met with the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Fran Belbin and two of her colleagues, as part of their outreach to discuss how best to improve public involvement in decision making. We raised with them how Local Area Committees operate, their role in Council Governance, and how residents can best take part in them. There seems to be some confusion over the role of LACs, leading to frustrations: different processes being used by different ones of the seven LACs, leading to lack of engagement with many residents.
Also, they each cover a large area (4 wards) making it difficult to raise the many local issues that are of concern, or to get satisfactory responses .
Reaching Out
Our group is keen to be in touch with a good range of people and organisations, to seek their opinions about democratic issues, and their experience of being able to make their voices heard. In this way, we hope to be informed of what issues we need to focus on, to address their concerns. In particular, we want to be in touch with people from ethnic minority communities, and we would welcome them to be part of our activities. We have become aware of the importance of reaching out since the Race Equality Commission in Sheffield reported in June 2022.
Last year, we met some staff at ISRAAC on Cemetery Road. We met the Tinsley Women’s Chai group in February; this month, we are in touch with Ship Shape at Mount Pleasant on Sharrow Lane. We are finding this a very rewarding process. And are looking forward to our future contacts.
Do be in touch if this is an area of interest for you.
Progress on current gender representation in Parliament
Have we made any? Well, only 226 MPs out of the total of 650 MPs are currently women, so there is still way to go.
But interestingly, the representation does vary, from party to party. And some have made considerable progress! Wonder how this will change after the coming General Election….
MPs by gender 2024
Party
Number of women MPs
Number of men MPs
Party Total
Conservative
88
260
348
Labour
104
96
200
Lib Dem
10
5
15
SNP
15
28
43
Independent
3
14
17
Other parties
6
20
26
Vacant
1
Totals
226
423
650
The campaign for votes for women started in 1851; it was not until 1918 that any women had any votes (only those aged 30 and over); only in 1925 did all women over 21 get the vote: 74 years! Hope we won’t have to wait so long to get 50% of MPs being women…
Voting in Sheffield in May
Two local elections coming up very soon, both on 2nd May
· Local councillors: one place in each ward. Using the first past the post system. But two vacancies in Firth Park ward due to Abtisam Mohamed resignation – she is standing for Labour as MP in Central Constituency where Paul Blomfield is standing down
· For South Yorkshire Mayor. This is different from the last mayoral election, as the responsibilities now include those of the Police and Crime Commissioner. Also, national government has changed the voting system for the Mayor, away from the Supplementary Vote system that was previously used. Under that, voters could have a first and second choice. Now, voters can only choose a single candidate, using the first past the post system. This change was made with hardly any consultation.
Our Voting Systems
The Deadline to register for our Local Elections on May 2nd is 16th April: 2 weeks hence. If you do it now, you’ll be ready to use your hard won democratic rights in time for the General Election too. Follow the links below and it won’t take long!
Last year, significant changes were made in how voters could use their vote at polling stations: they had to produce identification which included a photo, in a formal process or government document e.g. passport.
At the local elections in May 2023, media reports showed that across the country, about 14,000 people were turned away from polling stations, and many more votes were not cast, because potential voters didn’t have the relevant documentation.
Voting by Post You don’t need photo ID to vote by post. And you don’t need to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate if you choose to vote this way. You can also vote by proxy.
You can also ask for help by phone, call: 0114 273 4093, or the Electoral Commission on 0800 328 0280. They are there to help everyone and will post out forms for completion if the internet is not your thing!
Voting in Person If you go to the polling station to vote in person, you do need photo ID. The 24th April is the deadline to apply for the Voter ID Authority. The impact of this (part of the Government’s claim to prevent “voter fraud”) is discussed here:
John Pullinger, Chair of the U.K. Electoral Commission, commented that : “Forcing voters to carry identification could disenfranchise certain groups at the general election ”….and that “t hose most significantly affected by these very tight rules include disabled people, unemployed people and some other groups.” More comment from him here, on how this change impacts on different groups of voters. (Via Lucy Fisher JANUARY 22 2024 Financial Times, behind a pay wall)
Many people are not registered to vote; often young people, students and those who have recently moved house. Voter numbers increase with age.
Are you registered to vote? Is it possible to encourage those you know who may not be? Younger people often feel powerless in face of so much recent change; get them to use the power they do have and send them a link!
WANT TO CHANGE? GET VOTING! (Thanks to VE for helping with this!)
Our Steering Group
We meet once a month, in person, on a Tuesday morning. You would be welcome to join us! Let us know if you are interested.
Always good to hear from people! And please feel free to forward this Update to anyone who might be interested.
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