Local Elections in England (online event)

About the event:

The campaigning period for local authority elections are a great opportunity to meet current and future decision makers. If you live in a local authority area in England with an election coming up in May, how can you use that chance to connect and improve the environment for your music group?

There are some important local elections coming up in May this year, including in all London boroughs, 32 Metropolitan Boroughs (including Birmingham and Newcastle), and for 6 directly elected Mayors. The campaigning period is a great time to talk to candidates about leisure time music, and a chance to influence the next group of decision makers in your area. And finding out their views on culture and community development in your area by asking the right questions could help you decide who to give your vote to.  

In this session we’ll be talking about the big issues for leisure-time music at local authority level, and what questions you can ask your candidates during their campaigns. We’ll look in more detail at the campaigns Making Music has built on music education, venues for rehearsal and performance, and music libraries, and ask you what would really make the difference for leisure-time music groups in your area. We’ll have a particular focus on groups in urban areas and talk about how their issues are different to rural groups.  

We’ll also be showing you our Questions for Candidates document for these elections, with talking points that raise key issues for leisure-time music. It will include information on the size and importance of the leisure-time music in England, and some prompts so you can quickly prepare to talk about your own group and why local authority decision makers should celebrate and protect it.  

We'll talk about:

• What elections are coming up, and what roles will candidates be campaigning to be elected to.  
• What decisions local authorities take that affect leisure-time music groups. 
• The key issues for leisure-time music groups to raise with candidates. 
• Preparing for the doorstep conversation – Talking about your group and asking the right questions.  

Who this event is for: Anyone in a leisure-time music group in England in an area with a local election coming up in May. We’ll have a particular focus on groups in urban areas (because of the locations of the majority of elections). Members in Scotland and Wales can attend their nation meet ups to talk about elections to the devolved parliaments in May 2026.  

Cost: FREE

We will be using Zoom to host the meeting, and will email you the joining link two days and again two hours before the event is due to start.

Please read the event information below before reserving your place.

Recording information:
We may decide to record this event, either for publishing on our website, or so that we can review it internally.
•    We will announce at the beginning of the event if a recording is being made and what it will be used for
•    We will usually record in speaker view, meaning only people who speak will be recorded
•    If you speak, your image and voice will be captured in the recording
•    Attendee names as displayed in a Zoom meeting will not be captured in the recording
•    If you do not want your live image to be captured, you may turn off your camera during the event. However, please be aware that if you do, your name will be displayed in place of your image, unless you have uploaded an image to your profile in Zoom
•    Breakout rooms will not normally be recorded
•    Your comments in the chat box will not form part of the recording
 

By booking a place and attending this event, you consent to being recorded in this way.

Inclusivity statement:
We aim to make our events as inclusive as possible. If you have any particular accessibility requirements or if there is anything else we can do to help make the event a better experience for you, please let us know.

Cancellation policy:
Making Music reserves the right to cancel an event due to low attendance numbers, adverse weather conditions or other circumstances which make it no longer possible to run the event.