Local elections in Cotham, Bristol, May 5, 2011.

As well as the big AV referendum tomorrow, people in the Cotham ward will be heading to their local polling station to cast their vote on who they want representing them on Bristol City Council. In theory.

For when it comes to local elections, there is often even less of a turnout than in General Elections, where the turnout remains pretty poor. While the Redland ward is staying the same for another few years, Liberal Democrat Councillor Neil Harrison, who represents Cotham, has been campaigning to maintain his seat.

The candidates challenging Cllr Harrison are Gareth Alan-Williams (Conservative), Estella Tincknell (Labour) Graham Woodruff (Green) and Amy Hillgrove (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts). Full ward info HERE.

Cllr Harrison is very active locally and as well as being members of several council committees, keeps his ward updated on local happenings through his blog. He has represented the ward for the past four years and is passionate about road improvements, the environment and improved public transport among other things. More info HERE.

But he’s not alone in his embrace of all things internet and Green Party challenger, Mr Woodruff, also has a comprehensive website where he makes clear his motivation and aims in standing for council in Cotham ward. He says: “The Green vote in Cotham has increased year on year, so that now only the Green Party are the serious challengers to the Liberal Democrats. Last year in Cotham, the we received an impressive 23% of the votes and maintained our clear second place well ahead of both Tory and Labour parties.” More info HERE.

Maybe it’s just me but if I can’t find info from my local candidates online then I feel like I’d be blindly voting for someone just because they do or don’t belong to a local party (unless they’ve doorstepped me that is). So in this instance, it has to be a two horse race – Harrison versus Woodruff.

Maybe that’s me being harsh, or showing my reliance on the Internet but candidates must recognise that this is the best way to engage with voters under the age of 30? What do you think? Were you aware of the full candidate list for this election? Do you know who they are or what they stand for? Or do you wish candidates were campaigning more, online or otherwise?

Perhaps you think local elections don’t matter? Are you only voting because you are heading along to the polling booth for the AV referendum anyway or would you have made an effort to vote in the local elections regardless? We’d love to hear your thoughts.