Public perceptions of independent councillors (polling report)

The Local Government Association (LGA) Research and Information team would like to thank Yonder Data Solutions for its input to this work. We would also like to thank all the participants who took part in the polling.

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Methodology

Between 22 February and 6 March 2022, a representative random sample of 1,000 British adults (aged 18 or over) was polled by telephone by Yonder Data Solutions. They were asked questions on their perceptions of independent councillors. A full set of interview questions is included in Annex A below.

Results

• 78 per cent of respondents said they know people can stand as independent candidates in local elections rather than belonging to a political party.
• 41 per cent of respondents said they did not know if their local council has any independent councillors.
• 74 per cent of respondents said they have not voted for an independent candidate in previous local elections. Of those, the largest proportion (39 per cent) said this was because they always vote for a particular political party.
• 51 per cent of respondents said they would vote for an independent candidate in a future local election.
• 34 per cent of respondents said ‘knowledge of the local area’ was the most important thing to them when voting for their local councillor/s, and 33 per cent said the most important thing was a councillor’s ‘interest in changing something locally’.

This report presents the findings of a round of public polling conducted in February and March 2022. It was completed by Yonder Data Solutions for the Local Government Association's (LGA's) Independent Group, which represents councillors in England and Wales who are independent, Green or from smaller parties.

Between 22 February and 6 March 2022, a representative random sample of 1,000 British adults (aged 18 or over) was polled by telephone.

Quotas were set on age, gender and region and the data weighted to the known British profile of age, gender, region, social grade, taken a foreign holiday in the last three years, tenure, number of cars in the household, working status, and mobile only households. The polling was conducted by Yonder Data Solutions, formerly Populus Data Solutions.

The questions on independent councillors followed a set of questions on residents’ satisfaction with their local council, asked every four months as part of the LGA’s work on the reputation of local government. The interview questions can be accessed in Annex A below.

Where tables and figures report the base, the description refers to the group of people who were asked the question. The number provided refers to the unweighted number of respondents who answered each question.

Please note the following when reading the report:

• throughout the report percentages in figures and tables may add to more than 100 due to rounding.

This section outlines the polling results.

Standing for election

More than three out of four respondents (78 per cent) said they knew people could stand as independent candidates in local elections rather than belonging to a political party. A fifth of respondents (20 per cent) were unsure (see Table 1):

Knowledge of independent councillors

59 per cent of respondents were aware of the presence or absence of independent councillors in relation to their local council: 33 per cent said they knew that their council had independent councillors; and 26 per cent said they knew that their council did not have any independent councillors. 41 per cent of respondents did not know if their local council had any independent councillors (see Table 2):

What three words

Respondents were asked: ‘What three words come to mind when comparing an independent councillor to a councillor belonging to a political party?’. Close to 1,400 words and phrases were received. Of these, about 1,100 could be classified using a coding frame. Overall, about 50 per cent of responses were positively-phrased, about 30 per cent were neutrally-phrased and 20 per cent were negatively-phrased. By far, the most common words (just under 25 per cent) related to independence, such as being independent, free-thinking, apolitical, unbiased and impartial. The second most common words (just under 10 per cent) related to being trustworthy or honest. And the third most common words (just under 10 per cent) were related to being dedicated, committed and motivated.

Voting history

Just under three quarters (74 per cent) of respondents said they had not voted for an independent candidate in previous local elections. Twenty-three per cent said they had voted for an independent candidate in the past and three per cent said they would rather not say (see Table 3):

Respondents who said they had not voted for an independent candidate in past local elections were asked why this was the case. Over a third (39 per cent) said this was because they always voted for a particular political party. 18 per cent said it was because no independent candidates stood and 16 per cent said it was because they preferred not to vote (see Table 4):

Future voting

Respondents were asked if they would vote for an independent candidate in a future local election. More than half (51 per cent) of respondents said yes they would, and a third (33 per cent) said it would depend on the candidate. 14 per cent of respondents said no, they would not vote for an independent candidate in future local elections (see Table 5):

Voting locally

34 per cent of respondents said ‘knowledge of the local area’ was most important to them when voting for their local councillor/s. A similar proportion, 33 per cent, said a candidate’s ‘interest in changing something locally’ was most important to them, 11 per cent said a candidate’s political party and a further 11 per cent said it was something else (see Table 6):

1.  Did you know that people can stand as independent candidates in local elections rather than belonging to a political party?

[Select one answer only]

• Yes
• No 
• Unsure [Treat as 'don't know' – not read out but the interviewer can code if given spontaneously]

2.  Thinking about your local council, do you know if it has any independent councillors?

[Select one answer only]

• Yes
• No
• Unsure [Treat as 'don't know' – not read out but the interviewer can code if given spontaneously]

3.  What three words come to mind when comparing an independent councillor to a councillor belonging to a political party?

[Open text]

4.  If you are happy to say, have you voted for an independent candidate in a previous local election?

[Select one answer only]

• Yes [Go to Question 18]
• No [Go to Question 17]
• Rather not say [Go to Question 18]

5.  [If 'No' at Question 4]: And was this because…?

[Select one answer only]

• No independents stood
• You didn’t like the candidate/s
• You always vote for a particular political party
• You were not eligible to vote
• You prefer not to vote
• Unsure [Treat as 'don't know' – not read out but the interviewer can code if given spontaneously]

6.  If you are happy to say, would you vote for an independent candidate in a future local election?

[Select one answer only]

• Yes
• No 
• Depends on candidate
• Rather not say

7.  What is most important to you when voting for your local councillor/s?

[Select one answer only]

• Their knowledge of the local area
• Their interest in changing something locally
• Their political party
• That they are well-known locally
• Something else
• Unsure