In just a week, local elections will take place across the county – but not everyone will cast their votes. Political apathy and distrust in parties continue to be barriers for some, with many Corby residents questioning how much weight their vote truly carries.
In May 2021 North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) held its first set of elections, with 78 new councillors elected across 26 electoral wards. This year, on May 1, NNC will return 68 councillors across 31 wards in a shake-up of electoral boundaries. It remains to be seen how the changes will affect voting habits.
Though the Conservative party currently holds a large majority within the authority, Corby has returned a strong Labour presence on the council, with all but the Corby Rural ward turning red in 2021. Voters also elected a Labour-run town council, which will be facing the polls again at the same time.
People in the town spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about the upcoming elections, the issues that they care about that could influence their vote, and their general feelings about the local parties.
In the Kingswood ward, which had the lowest voter turnout rate in Corby in the 2021 election, at just 27.3 per cent, there was a sense from individuals that, whatever way they voted, nothing would change.
Friends Vikki Dunnachie and Stella Mitchell, 58, told the LDRS that they felt let down and disconnected from politics altogether. They brought up issues with poor lighting on the Kingswood estate and an increase in anti-social behaviour from young people, making them feel at risk in their own neighbourhood.
"I’ve lived on this estate for 40-odd years and before you would walk anywhere, now at night it’s a no-go," Stella said, "It’s like with the shooting a couple of weeks ago, when have you ever heard of that in Corby?"
"There’s a lot changed. It’s sad actually because this is our community and we all look out for each other, but nobody’s looking out for us. Labour’s come in from the general election and what have they done? They’ve screwed everybody basically. I don’t even want to vote that’s how bad it’s got."
Vikki added: "It’s scary. I’ve got my grandkids staying with me as well and I wouldn’t let them out. What’s the point [in voting]? I’m Labour, but I think Labour’s s**t at the moment. People think nothing’s going to change and why bother."
A 39-year-old dad who lives on the estate, who asked not to be named, raised similar concerns about how much his vote would actually make a difference: "When you’re voting and still see no change it’s pointless in my eyes. I voted in the general election, but I’m probably not going to vote this time.
"I don’t think any one of them is different to the other one, so there’s no point. Whoever gets voted in, nothing’s going to change; they all promise, but it’s never kept. A lot of the people that I speak to don’t vote. I suppose it’s a bad time to hold a local election because of what’s happened since the general election – people have lost faith."
Another Kingswood resident, Vicki Maddocks, said that who she votes for at the polls will be influenced by their connection and passion for the local area. "You spend more time looking at potholes than you do the actual road which is a bit of a nightmare," she told the LDRS. "You sort of feel like who do you vote for? A lot of people felt like Labour getting in was going to change a lot of stuff – and has it?
"It’s just nice to have somebody in there who actually cares about the community that they live in. As long as it’s somebody from this area who’s lived here a long time and knows the issues, but until they get in they don’t know what they can do and what they can’t.
"That would be the way I go – someone who I think had Kingswood and Corby in general to heart and trying to move it forward."
Moving away from Kingswood and into the town centre, Vincent Smith, 62, said that the state of the roads locally and the amount of money and disruption caused by the new cycle path were issues he cared about going into the election.
He continued: "I don’t think the local council do a great deal for us. I voted Conservative all my life except for last time I voted Reform and I’ll be going Reform as well for the local elections.
"They might not have much experience, but they can’t be any worse than what we’ve got at the minute. They got a scare from Reform in the general election and I think the more by-elections we have hopefully it will send a message."
Corby mum, Annabel Page, 35, said that the single most important matter that would win her vote is attitudes to SEND provision and schools. "We have two SEND children and the issues that we’re facing with that are so unbelievably difficult," she told the LDRS.
"There is quite a large SEND community in Corby. If there was a politician that would be willing to say to Lee Barron that we’re struggling, we’re having to go to tribunals to get their right for an education, that would definitely sway us if there was a politician who was behind parents."
When asked if she had seen any options locally that she felt were offering that level of support, she said she had not seen it, or perhaps candidates had not been vocal enough.
Summer, 25, picked up potholes, anti-social behaviour and overflowing healthcare facilities as the main issues she saw locally. "Potholes have definitely got a lot worse and anti-social behaviour has definitely increased. Obviously, that might not necessarily be to do with the council, but the council can do something about it.
"Something for teenage kids is needed because there’s not much to actually do in that sense in Corby. You’ve got a few places, but unless it involves drugs, alcohol, things like that, there’s nothing to do. We need dentists, we need healthcare because it’s nowhere near enough for the amount of people that we’ve got here. I have to pay to get an emergency healthcare dentist because there’s no spaces in NHS dentists whatsoever."
However, her frustrations have turned into disillusionment with politics, as she has said she won't bother voting this year.
"Whichever party you go for it’s still going to be s**t," Summer said, "They’re still going to promise things and then not deliver. There’s no interest in it whatsoever. I feel like you could pick someone off of the street and put them in the council and they’d do a better job because they’re not blinded and their interests are pure. I think people are seeing it for what it is now."
Residents across North Northamptonshire will go to the polls on Thursday, May 1, to cast their votes in the unitary and town and parish council elections. To gain a majority on the unitary authority, a political party will need to take 35 seats across all wards. The results of the NNC elections will be announced the day after polls close, on Friday, May 2. Town and parish council results will be counted on Saturday, May 3.
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