Milnrow & Newhey Feb 2022

Voting has never
mattered more!
This May will see the biggest local election in our borough in almost
20 years. Local Councillor Andy Kelly writes about the importance of
taking part in democracy. (NB This is NOT a party-political message!)
Across the 20 wards in Rochdale,
Heywood, Middleton and the
Pennines - all 60 council seats will
be up for grabs on the 5th May.
This means that everyone eligible will be
able to cast three votes to decide which
three councillors they want to represent
their area. Each vote is equal so the three
candidates on each ballot with the most
votes will be elected. There are 60 seats
on Rochdale Council so the first party to
gain 31 seats will run it.
It’s come about because we have been
building more houses in the borough
and some wards have more houses than
others (and therefore people/ voters in
each ward). The Boundary Commission
are responsible for making sure that
all wards are of a similar size (+ -10%).
When they looked at Rochdale in 2020,
Kingsway and West Middleton were
substantially bigger that other areas
which triggered a need to change the
ward boundaries. Change even one ward,
and you legally have to have an “all out”
election.
In each of the 20 wards, parties can field
a maximum of three candidates each to
try and win the three seats up for grabs -
so we might be seeing some pretty long
ballot papers! Big change is possible
too as in the past all out elections have
created big swings and changes of
power.
They can of course strengthen the vote of
councillors who are seen to be doing well.
Every year I hear similar phrases about
people’s voting habits too…
“I’m not registered to vote.”
It is pretty easy to register to vote.
All you need is your National Insurance
number, and you visit:
www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
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