U.K. elections

The Guardian view on the 2018 local elections: speaking for England?

A month from now, voters in England will give the first significant electoral verdict on the political parties since the June 2017 general election. With no elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland this year, only English voters will get the chance to bring in this early verdict on Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. But no one should pretend that England will speak with one voice.

Quite the reverse. These elections appear more likely than at any time in the recent past to emphasise England’s own large and sometimes deepening geographical political differences. These range from the difference between opinion and politics in London and those in the rest of England, to contrasts between and within the many differing communities outside the M25 with a vote next month, from Carlisle in the north to Plymouth in the south, which should never be lumped together.

More than ever, the answer to the Daily Mail’s provocative front page question of two years ago, “Who will speak for England?”, is that it depends which England you mean. London-based media – and not just the Mail – can sometimes blur these issues. Political parties are equally prone to do this. London is the capital city, but it is not synonymous with England, let alone Britain. Much attention over the next four weeks will rightly focus on the contests in the 32 London boroughs, where all the seats are up for grabs. Labour has high hopes. But it is certainly not the whole story.