Summary: Three quarters of English councils have elections in May – so what better time to give the tyres of our local democracy a kick? From the basics of publishing candidate names and polling station locations, to stamping out fake news in political discourse, we explore the ways councils can bring their citizens into local decision-making. We hear from UCL's Constitution Unit, Democracy Club and the Lewisham Democracy Review. Plus our regular roundup of LGiU's Daily News stories and member-only policy briefings. Guests: *Michele Palese, research officer at the UCL Constitution Unit, discusses her recommendations for strengthening our democratic functions in the context of misinformation and disengagement in politics. *Joe Mitchell and Sym Roe from Democracy Club update us on their work to crowdsource candidate data and polling station locations to improve the visibility of local elections, and invite you to join one of their election data parties ('as fun as Fortnite'). *Cllr Kevin Bonavia, Cabinet Member for Democracy at Lewisham Council, tells us about engaging hard-to-reach citizens through the Lewisham Democracy Review. Hosted by Jonathan Carr-West and Ingrid Koehler.
