mayoral elections

The Dodo, icon of our time?
In 'Alice in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll, the Dodo said that "all must have prizes". By the time the result for the Mayor of London was declared and Boris Johnson won again, it was clear that the Dodo was not going to get its way in the local elections. Anyone who cares about democracy must be concerned that the turnout was so low and hope that the politicians have spotted this. The chances are that they have not, yet. First will come the excuses such as - the rain was nearly continuous on the day of polling - but this is clutching at straws. People outside of the London-centric political bubble could tell way in advance that public participation would be down. Had the bubble dwellers spent just a little time in a typical suburb they would have experienced for themselves the feelings of voters. The late Peter Cook, who was far more than just a comedian, gave us the line, "don't vote, it only encourages them". So it was he rather than the Dodo who got it right on the night.

In some cities voters who could be bothered to turn out had two ballot papers, one for local elections as per normal and another to set up an elected mayor system. The latter was generally rejected and represents a set-back for all three parties.