Rain or shine, earnest political hopefuls will be urging the electorate to turn out and vote in the local elections.

As the kmfm adverts say, if you want to have a say on nothing at all - don't vote.

But according to one Kent academic, it should be no surprise if people just don't bother.

Ben Seyd, a British politics lecturer from the University of Kent, spoke out as more than 70 council seats came up for grabs in Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Swale, Swanley and Hextable.

He said: “People don’t vote in local elections because they don’t think it is important - unless people are interested in planning, refuse collection and local roads.

“If local councils had more powers and more capability and central government decentralised powers then people would be more likely to vote.

“One of the reasons voter turn-out is low is because they know local authorities are not that important when it comes to things like schools, local hospitals and police. If they had more power over welfare services like they used to then more people would vote.”

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But a spokesman from the Department of Communities and Local Government has refuted Mr Seyd's claims, saying: "Local government has a huge remit, providing a wide range of services like emptying bins, maintaining highways, running education, social services, public transport, parks and gardens - all of which have a direct impact on the quality of peoples lives.

"Reflecting this, the Local Government and Involvement in Public Health Act 2007 saw more decision making power being handed to authorities, giving them more control over their funding, greater powers to pass by-laws, revise local structures and work to local priorities."

In Maidstone, 63 candidates are contesting 19 seats and, with a hung council, the vote will determine who runs the borough for the next two years. The current make up is 27 Conservatives, 21 Liberal Democrat, four Independent, and three Labour.

The turnout for last year's contest was 38 per cent.

In Tunbridge Wells, 46 candidates are contesting 15 wards on the council, currently made up of 41 Conservatives and seven Liberal Democrats.

There are 16 seats available this year in Swale. The present make-up of Swale Council is 25 Conservative councillors, 10 Labour, six Liberal Democrats and six Independents.

Nineteen candidates will contest nine seats on Hextable’s new council, which split from Swanley Town Council on April 1.

Twenty-five candidates are vying for the 16 seats available at Swanley Town Council.

To see list of polling stations visit:

>>> tunbridgewells.gov.uk

>>> swale.gov.uk

>>> sevenoaks.gov.uk

To contact your nearest polling station in Maidstone, call the borough council on 01622 602007 between 6am to 10pm tomorrow

* For more information about the new white paper visit our website: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/localgovernment/712930