VOTERS are not fully aware of Slough Borough Council’s financial troubles as residents flocked to the polling booths to vote on who gets to represent them for a year.
Throughout much of Slough’s life as a unitary authority in 1998, it has been run by Labour as the strong majority.
No matter the outcome of the by-thirds election, the Slough Labour Group will stay have enough councillors to run the council, but this year will be a test for the group if residents still have faith in them after the council effectively declared bankruptcy in July 2021.
The council’s finances and governance issues were unearthed just days after last year’s election. The local authority is needing to make £20m savings every year until 2029 and sell off up to £600m-worth of its assets to fill its £479m black hole and reduce its £760m borrowing debt.
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Yesterday, we asked people online as well as on the High Street and at a few polling stations if the council’s bankruptcy will sway residents' votes away from Labour.
Talking to the local democracy reporting service, people on the High Street and polling stations said they either didn’t know much about the council’s bankruptcy to comment or were unaware of its financial troubles.
When asked if they had known about the town’s money troubles, people said they were ‘unsure’.
But it’s a different picture online when we asked on our Facebook page. A majority of responses said it will affect how they vote today.
One resident wrote: “Yes, I always voted for labour locally, but not today, it’s the Greens or the Independent candidate.”
Another posted: “Absolutely. Definitely not getting my vote and next year when we can actually change the council, I will not be voting Labour. They’ve screwed this town and rinsed it thoroughly.”
Charles Burke wrote “who in their right mind would vote Labour” after the council effectively declared bankruptcy last year.
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This year’s election will be the last where a third of councillors are voted in. From next year, Slough will be holding ‘all-out’ elections with new internal ward boundaries where every member stands for election every four years.
We will find out if the Slough people still have faith in Labour after the count on Friday, May 6, which is taking place at the council’s headquarters Observatory House.
Counting is expected to start from 9:30am and stop at about 2:30pm.
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