Elections 2015: Parties, candidates, wards and Twitter lists

In this week's Brighton and Hove Independent, we publish the most up-to-date list of candidates currently selected or declared for the Brighton and Hove City Council elections on Thursday, May 7.

So far, there are 125 candidates (for 54 seats, in 21 wards): Conservative Party, 37; Green Party, 22; Labour and Co-operative Party, 44; Liberal Democrats, 2; UKIP, 17; and Independent, 3.

A careful study of the lists gives a clue to the priorities and expectations of the various parties.

Why has the Labour Party not yet selected candidates for Patcham, while the Conservative Party has? Because Patcham - while important to Labour at the general election, also on May 7 - is not at all winnable when it comes to local council elections.

Why have the Conservatives not selected candidates in Preston Park? Or in Hollingdean and Stanmer? Because these are two-horse races between the Greens and Labour.

And why have only the Conservatives selected candidates in Hove Park, while only Labour has selected candidates in East Brighton?

You get the picture.

As so often, elections are won and lost in a limited number of "battlefield" seats.

Even in the Tony Blair/Labour landslide of 1997, only a quarter of parliamentary constituencies changed hands.

Over the coming weeks and months, Brighton and Hove Independent will highlight the key wards and the key issues - while always urging all citizens to exercise their democratic rights and fulfil their democratic responsibilities.

Sometimes, it can be difficult.

On Twitter, we have created a series of "lists" that enable you to follow easily the 140-character thoughts of candidates who count themselves members of the Twitterati.

In total, more than 60 of the 119 candidates are on Twitter, with a total of more than 40,000 followers - with Labour having 28 Twitterers, with a total of about 21,000 followers. There is, of course, a lot of double-counting: you follow me, I'll follow you....you tweet me and I'll tweet you. Twitter is like that.

Moreover, with our lists, you can follow only candidates of a particular party - or only candidates in a particular ward.

Unfortunately, barely a day goes by without a party apparatchik bickering and twittering with a fellow twitterer or bickerer of a rival party; a handful of Green and Labour candidates - a minority, thankfully - dominate what is laughingly called "a conversation".

If you think it is upsetting to be disturbed by an evening phone call from a party volunteer - or, worse, a Sunday-morning visit by a candidate on your doorstep - then be prepared for an even more depressing insight into the social-media world of local politics by listening in to some of the tweets of some of the candidates (to be fair, of all parties).

Candidates should be warned: Brighton and Hove Independent will be publishing some of the worst '“ as well as some of the best - of the political tweets.

More constructively, we will be publishing the policies, strategies, and thoughts of the main protagonists. (For example, this week's Labour: Taking power by winning 15 in 2015.)

As Brighton and Hove Independent has repeatedly highlighted, our city is facing a crisis - a time when difficult and important decisions have to be made.

Some of these decisions '“ for example, those to be made about next year's council budget - will be made by the current city council, on which no party has majority control. There are 20 Green councillors, 18 Conservative councillors, 13 Labour councillors, one UKIP councillor, and two independent councillors.

It is entirely possible that the council elected on May 7 will be similarly divided, leading to another minority administration that finds it difficult to push through its own agenda.

This may or may not be desirable. It may or may not what we collectively want.

On the same day, it is entirely possible that the government elected on May 7 will be either a coalition or a minority government operating on a vote-by-vote basis.

Again, this may be desirable.

Just one thing is certain: we can control only how we exercise our own votes - locally and nationally. Not how others exercise theirs.

Elections 2015

See the first of our 21 ward profiles: Hollingdean and Stanmer

Follow all the tweets and retweets by candidates on our Twitter list

How will Brighton and Hove vote on May 7?