John Harvey (Letters, 8 May) cites the loss by Labour to the Conservatives of North East Derbyshire council as an example of local issues determining the outcome of local elections, in this case the public opposition to the council’s plans to develop green field land for housing. Interestingly, in adjoining Derbyshire Dales district council, the ruling Tories lost all of their seats in Matlock to the Lib Dems, primarily because of local opposition to housing developments on greenfield land.
The truth is that whatever party is in power locally, they are being forced by central government policy to deliver housing on such sites, under threat of sanctions and massive costs in defending appeals by developers. I doubt there are many local councillors from any party who want to see their local green land covered in large houses built to bring profits to developers, rather than develop brownfield to meet local housing need. This may appear to be a local issue, but it is centrally driven, determined by the current government and their coalition predecessors, egged on by the big housebuilders.
Councils of every stripe are getting punished at the polls for this situation, but whoever is in power in any given local authority will find themselves under the exact same pressures, and powerless to do much about it.
Isabella Stone
Sheffield
• It is to be welcomed if the recent election results “prove local politics is alive and well” (Letters, 8 May). But for that to happen one has to be able to vote – a right removed from most Northamptonshire residents in November 2018 against a background admirably described in Patrick Butler’s article (1 May). How was this electorate able last week to hold local politicians to account?
Dr Paul Machon
Arthingworth, Northamptonshire
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