Chaos and hope felt ahead of local elections

"Chaos, utter chaos," exclaims Evelyn Herbert.

There are dozens of toddlers and young children running around, jumping on an indoor bouncy castle, whizzing round on trikes, and having fun on soft play as the music of Katy Perry fills the room.

This is "Messy Mayhem", a regular playgroup event in Harlow, Essex – but it is not what Herbert is referring to.

"Our roads are awful. The government doesn't know what they are doing," she says, giving her view on politics and the current state of the country,

"This about-turn this way; this about-turn that way. I think we are in utter chaos."

In a month, the 61-year-old grandmother from Chigwell will go to the polls along with millions of others across England in local council elections.

Outside London, neighbouring Essex is the county with the most authorities electing councillors – nine in all.

Areas such as Harlow are seen as representative of the wider national mood: the town has voted for the winning party in every general election since 1983.

Among the families sitting at tables eating full English fry-ups is childminder Karen Waite, 59, who previously spoke to the BBC during the 2024 election campaign.

"Things are looking up," she says.

"I think Harlow is improving greatly since two years ago. We seem to have a little bit more hope, whereas we were all a bit down and low two years ago.

"The economy, that's not helping Harlow. We are all battling against it."

On the political parties, she says: "I think they are all a much of a muchness.

"They are all taking on everybody else's problems from years before. They all blame each other and I have no clear person I would vote for".

Emma, a 26-year-old mum, is looking after her son Oscar. She is upbeat. "England, I think, we are good," she says.

"Other places aren't as good as Harlow in respect of the war, and petrol".

Other places are not as closely fought politically as Harlow.

Messy Mayhem borders the ward of Sumners and Kingsmoor.

Control of the district council came down to this area in 2024 with the Conservatives clinching the final seat by 36 votes.

They are defending a majority of one, not just from Labour but also Reform UK.

People here will be able to vote not just for a district councillor but also for a county councillor.

The same goes in Colchester, where the five main parties are all vying for seats. The city council is currently run by the Liberal Democrats with Labour.

On a Thursday night out in the city centre, the C-word is mentioned again,

"It's chaos," says Jo Palmer-Tweed over a cocktail in the Dragonfly Lounge bar, which she runs.

"I think it's really frightening times and I am really unclear about what the current government is doing for people like me."

Bar manager Acey Chinnery, also one of the drag artists who perform at the venue, says LGBTQ+ rights are his biggest issue, but that he and his friends are also feeling the pinch of the cost of living.

"There are so many working-class people who have got to the point where they are thinking, 'I'm working so often, I never have money to enjoy myself' and it's getting to a breaking point.

"We just aren't able to enjoy ourselves. It's just work, pay bills, buy food. Next week, all start again. I'm really hoping that with correct changes to the government, people can start enjoying their lives again."

People are still having fun and a laugh at a new talent night. Getting into drag is Inna Thunder, 25, originally from Romania and preparing to try stand-up comedy for the first time.

But the cost of housing is affecting her.

"A lot of immigrants are becoming homeless right now because of the way things are," she says.

"For a lot of people, they paid their dues; they paid everything. It's very difficult to find housing. It's difficult to find jobs as well."

Romanians, along with other EU citizens who had permission to stay in the UK before 31 December 2020 and are lawfully allowed to be resident in England, are able to vote in local elections on 7 May.

Leaflets are being pushed through letterboxes and posts on social media feeds are being sent by parties and candidates as campaigning gets under way.

The political parties pointed to their policies on tackling rising energy prices.

Labour said its "top priority is taking clear action to support hardworking families from freezing rail fares to increasing wages, building 1.5 million homes and providing up to 30 free hours of childcare".

Reform accused the government of being "totally out of its depth". A spokesperson said: "After 16 major U-turns, record tax hikes, and a fresh cost-of-living crisis that is hitting people in their pockets, it's no surprise that voters think the country is in total chaos."

Other opposition parties have called for a further reduction on tax. The Liberal Democrats have said they would immediately cut fuel duty by 10p.

The Conservatives said Labour should be looking at cutting VAT on petrol and diesel.

The Green Party has said it would improve insulation in people's homes to shield them from energy price rises.

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