Sheffield elections: unsure who to vote for? Who Is My Councillor is here to help

Molly Williams
By Molly Williams
Published 25th Apr 2023, 16:19 BST
Updated 27th Apr 2023, 07:56 BST
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Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.

The website, created by non-party political volunteers from Sheffield, was designed to bring together information about election candidates in one place to help voters make informed decisions.

The website – which was the first of its kind when it launched in 2021 – attracted double the pageviews over the past fortnight compared to 2022.

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Voters can easily find information about who is running in their ward and where they stand on key issues by typing their postcode into the search box or scrolling by area or party.

Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.
Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.

Eleanor Holmshaw, co-founder, said: “Local and national politics are very different. The reality is political parties include people with hugely different positions and ideas. Research shows a correlation between lack of information and low turnout.”

Hansard research in 2019 showed a correlation between lack of knowledge around politics and low turnout, particularly in younger people, and not having enough information was repeatedly cited as a reason young people give for not voting.

Eleanor said the website aims to help address this.

“Sheffield has the potential to be a city which makes exciting decisions and sets an example of how well democracy could work,” she said.

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Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.
Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.

The group also worked with the University of Sheffield to research what the project revealed about Sheffield’s political landscape. It found use of the site geographically replicated existing inequalities in turnout across the city. The group and the university is applying for funding to continue this research to explore how inequalities in turnout across Sheffield can be addressed.

As polling day approaches on Thursday, May 4, the team has been working hard contacting candidates and publishing online profiles for each one.

Eleanor estimates there are about 51 active candidates – who are either standing in marginal wards or who have high online activity – running in Sheffield’s local elections this year and 105 paper candidates. She said of 156 candidates in total, 55 filled out the full survey so far. All but one party had candidates who took part.

Voters can send ideas for questions to ask future candidates through the website.

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Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.
Candidates from various parties outside Sheffield Town Hall. Who Is My Councillor has gone live with this year’s local election candidate information, helping voters compare their policies, priorities, parties and ideas.

The website can be found here: https://whoismycouncillor.co.uk/

Remember to bring photographic identification to vote at polling stations this year, for more information about this visit the government’s website here: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/photo-id-youll-need

Related topics:SheffieldUniversity of Sheffield