A little late in the day perhaps, but hopefully not "too" late...

With both the District Council and Parliamentary elections fast approaching on 6 May, I thought I'd write a short blog on the different elections. I will openly say that I have a natural "political" bias (who doesn't?), but this blog is meant to be apolitical and informational.

Two elections, not just one? 

Yes, as well as the election for our local MP, there’s also an election for one of the District Councillors. The polling station for Orchard Park residents for both of these elections will be at The Orchard community centre, not at the school, nor at The Meadows as in previous elections.

But why is there a need for for more than one election?

4 Tiers of Government?

The government in England and Wales is vast and has lots of layers – it can actually consist of up to 4 levels of elected "members" ("officers" are the paid employees of any government department or council)...

Central Government

The top level of the government hierarchy is Central Government (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_central_government), which consists of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and on the 6 May we will be voting for those people we want to represent us as Members of the House of Commons...commonly know as MPs. Our constituency is South East Cambridgeshire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_East_Cambridgeshire_(UK_Parliament_constituency) and we have 7 candidates for the election:

• Daniel Bell (Christian Peoples Alliance) 
• Jonathan Chatfield (Liberal Democrat)
• John Cowan (Labour Party) - has been suspended by the Labour Party, but has not withdrawn from the election
• Andy Monk (UK Independence Party)
• James Paice (Conservative)
• Simon Sedgewick-Jell (Green Party)
• Geoffrey Woollard (Independent)

Central government is responsible for all national and international affairs - for example:

• Crime and justice
• Home and foreign policy
• Health
• Defence
• Environment

Local Government – County/Unitary

The second level of government consists of County Councils and Unitary Authorities. In Cambridgeshire we have a County Council, which has wide ranging responsibilities including:

• Education and schools
• Transport and roads
• Social care
• Children and young people
• Leisure and culture
• Policing and public safety

Orchard Park is represented by two County Councillors (David Jenkins and Sue Gymer), with the last elections in 2009 and no elections in 2010. 

Local Government – District/City

The third level of government is District and City Councils. Despite how close we are to Cambridge City, Orchard Park is not governed by Cambridge City Council as we are part of South Cambridgeshire District Council. The District Council is responsible for:

• Planning applications
• Waste and recycling
• Housing
• New Communities

Orchard Park is represented by three District Councillors  - Jonathan Chatfield, Mike Mason and Neil Davies. Elections for District Councillors are staggered so that only one councillor is elected each time. So the second election on 6 May this year is for a District Councillor and we have 5 candidates for the election:

• Neil Davies (Independent)
• Val Fryer (UK Independence Party)
• Philip Scott (Conservative)
• Edd Stonham (Liberal Democrat)
• Niamh Sweeney (Labour)

Local Government – Town/Parish/Community

Completing the tiers of government are the most local layer of elected government – town and parish councils. In Orchard Park we have the most recent “style” of parish council, called a community council – elections to the community council occurred in 2009 and the elected members can be found on http://www.orchardpark.gov.uk. The next election for community councillors will be May 2011, when all 9 seats will be up for election.

The community council is responsible for:

• Public open spaces
• Play areas
• Sports facilities
• Community centre
• Planning application representation