‘If you don’t vote, you can’t complain’
What were the views at the polling stations?
Stirling went to the polls yesterday to select a new Stirling Council.
Voters were asked to pick their choices for the local authority, with results due later this afternoon (Friday).
We’ll have all the results online when they are announced at stirlingobserver.co.uk, and full reaction in next week’s paper.
There are 49 candidates vying for the 23 seats on the council and polling was taking place across all of Scotland’s 32 authorities.
The SNP are the only party fielding enough candidates to potentially gain an overall majority on Stirling Council. The other parties would have to agree to a coalition to have control of the council’s Administration.
If the SNP does not secure an overall majority, talks will take place over the next few days as parties negotiate to form an Administration. The SNP have said they will not form a coalition with the Conservatives, who have been in Adminstration with the Labour Party for the past five years.
Following the recent Scottish Local Government Boundary review the number of councillors to be elected in the Stirling Council area has increased by one to 23 across the seven multi-member wards.
The Dunblane/Bridge of Allan and new Stirling North wards will elect four councillors, while the five remaining are three-member wards: Trossachs and Teith, Forth and Endrick, Stirling West, Stirling East and Bannockburn.
There were early suggestions yesterday that turnout is expected to be lower than in 2012 (44 per cent) but that the good weather might attract voters out later on.
At polling stations in Stirling, several voters said they thought it is important to take part in local government elections.
“If you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” said Marc Hillhouse (20).
Mathew McEwan (22) said he considers local elections to be important as they are “more grounded” and in touch with the public.
Sally Standfield who was voting with her mother, Janet Stanfield, in Raploch said that is important to vote in any election.