South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter writes about the recent Lincolnshire County Council election

I’ve attended dozens of election counts over the years and there is usually some excitement but, in recent years, they appear to be increasingly astounding, writes South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter (Ind).

On Friday, I watched many of Lincolnshire’s most high-profile county councillors lose their seats to Reform UK, as I waited for my own result. I was thankful to be re-elected to my county seat along with the other three Independent councillors.

Clearly, people across the whole country are unsatisfied with our current state of democracy. I don’t just mean the people who voted for Reform UK but also with the roughly 70% of electors who didn’t vote at all. Some may subscribe to Emma Goldman’s axiom that if voting could change anything, they would make it illegal. Others may feel disenchanted, disenfranchised or disappointed by the available options on their ballot papers.

Obviously, I vote and I stand for election but I also know the system could be improved.

Like 90% of county councillors, I won my seat with fewer than half the votes cast. This means most of the people who actually voted did not back the winning candidate. The archaic system of First Past the Post may have been tolerable in a two-party state but we now have at least five popular parties, and credible independent candidates, so it is time to shift to a proportional system which takes into account people’s second and third choices.

The other problem with our electoral system is the lack of diversity. Only one in five of the new Lincolnshire county councillors is a woman. As I pointed out at a recent conference, council elections clearly favour people who are male, pale, frail and, let’s face it, stale. Perhaps this is why councillors are so often opposed to new ideas and policies which support women and young people. This situation will only get worse when the county and district councils are abolished and the number of councillors is slashed while the workload for those who are left will preclude almost everyone who has a conventional job or a young family.

I will continue to constructively criticise and challenge at the county council, and will collaborate with colleagues of all political persuasions in pursuit of better outcomes for residents. And as leader at South Kesteven, I welcome such opposition at a district level. Hopefully, all councillors want a more equal society, to look after vulnerable people, educate children, mend the roads and fix the economy regardless of the colour of their rosette.