Results time

As this will be published the results of the local government elections held yesterday will be counted and analyzed both in the areas directly effected, for us the Greater Stoke on Trent region centred around North Staffordshire, across the West Midlands region generally and of course Nationally in the popular press, radio and television such as the BBC, ITN and Sky News.
A few things to bear in mind is the services that take the largest proportion of local authority spending Education and Youth and Adult Social Services have faced large scale reductions since Twenty-ten in the monies made available through money given via grants from national government at a time of greater numbers in education and also needing  support either at home in specialized centres.
Also there has been a clear switch to locally raised funds rather than block grant payments from central government for national duties administered locally by such authorities.
There is a high level of dissatisfaction with the public over this - education to eighteen for instance is notionally 'free' but increasingly schools have been charging for course requirements - and so it remains to be seen if the public associate it with central government which has been Conservative led since Twenty-ten or with alleged waste by the actual authorities and how that plays out at the polls.
So far it looks like the smaller parties and groupings are winning out over the main socialist Labour and right of centre Conservatives.
The contentious issue of Europe and Brexit will show up on May 23rd IF we don't avoid having to hold elections to the European Parliament as that is a requirement under European Union law.