07 May 2026
After the election
After the election, what you do next will depend on what you’ve already done and how the results have played out in your area.
Our overall goal through this campaign is to build power in our communities by:
- listening to people
- bringing their priorities together
- using our collective voice to influence councils through a Charter of Hope.
This approach helps make sure climate action is rooted in what matters to local people. It also shows councillors that there’s support for change.
In some places, it may make sense to send a simple welcome message to newly elected councilors. This is especially true if:
- you already have a relationship with them
- you feel they’re already aligned with your Charter of Hope
- you can easily find their contact details.
In other places, it may be better to wait a few weeks. It sometimes takes time for councillors to get set up with new email addresses and council websites may not be updated straight away.
If sending a new councillor a message doesn’t feels right for your group, focus on continuing your listening work over the summer or handing in your Charter of Hope.
Use this moment to build your group
The period after the election and over the summer is a key opportunity to bring new people into your group.
Whether people are feeling hopeful or frustrated by the results, many will be looking for a way to respond and to take action locally. Your group can offer a space for this.
You might want to plan a simple summer social, campaign meeting or event where new people can meet the group and find out more.
We’ve created template social media posts you can use and template copy you can send out to your mailing list.
Read our guide on recruiting new people to your group.
In this guide you’ll find ideas for:
- building on your community listening activities (or getting started if you’re new to the campaign)
- creating a charter of hope
- handing in your charter for hope.
There’s plenty to keep you busy. And with new group members you’ll have more hands-on deck.
Plan your summer activities based on the capacity you have. Make sure there’s plenty of time for fun and social connection too. Remember you’re part of a group who are there to support and work with you.
Read our guide on sharing responsibilities between your group.
Listening to your community
Start listening
If you’re just getting started with this campaign, we begin by listening to people in our communities about what matters most to them. We have a guide for how to do this.
After listening, groups connect people's everyday concerns to climate and social justice, using our policy asks as a starting point.
This approach is especially important given the current political climate. We’re seeing more polarisation, misinformation and attempts to turn climate action into a culture war.
Starting with listening helps ground our work in real local priorities and build broader support.
If you're already listening
If you’ve already been doing community listening activities, you may want to continue these to deepen your understanding of the issues that are impacting people most locally.
Present what you’ve heard to councillors in a charter for hope (details below). Being able to show the depth and breadth of people you consulted will be more persuasive.
There may be something already in your calendar such as Great Big Green Week that could serve as a good listening opportunity.
We also have cards of hope – you could use these to build on any listening activities you’ve already done and collect messages from the public about the key issues locally which can later be present to the council.
And you can:
- Order listening resources.
- See our Community Listening Guide for more details.
Create a charter of hope
People in your community will share their concerns when you listen to them. Once you’ve done this, come together to make a short set of community-backed priorities known as a charter of hope.
You can use our template to create your charter of 3 - 5 priorities. See how to do that with our guide to making a charter of hope.
If you’ve already created a Charter for Hope you can use any additional listening activities over the summer to refine it and collect cards of hope to hand in alongside it.
Building relationships with relevant local groups
Through making your Charter of Hope you’ll have an understanding of your area’s priorities. You can then work to identify and contact any local groups and organisations working on those issues and let them know about your charter of hope. You might like to include:
- Why the issue is important locally.
- Why it's something your group cares about.
- A question about what they are working on currently and where they might want support.
- An invitation to join your group to hand in the charter of hope. (See more below)
- An invitation to work together in the future.
This can be part of an ongoing relationship between your groups.
Hand in your Charter of Hope
Once you’ve spoken to local people and partner organisations, it’s time to hand in your Charter of Hope to councillors. This is your chance to show that the charter comes from your community, and to ask local decision-makers to listen to what people are calling for.
When?
You can choose a moment to hand in your Charter of Hope that feels appropriate for your group. This might be the first council meeting back after summer, or a key meeting where climate is being discussed. You can use these meetings as a hook for publicising your Charter of Hope especially if you want to plan a stunt or photo call.
Make sure to plan your hand-in before September so it still feels relevant for your council.
Who?
Think about who is most important to reach. That might be the council leader, cabinet members, relevant committee chairs (such as environment), or councillors who are likely to be sympathetic to your asks.
See more about council roles in our guide: Understanding how your council works.
If you have a Charter of Hope it makes sense to contact councillors representing the wards where you carried out listening activities. If you’re not sure, start with the people most likely to support the issues that you are raising and act on them.
Different councils have different cabinet and committee structures, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all way of identifying the right councillors. And in some places, especially where decisions are made at mayoral level, it may also make sense to contact councillors who sit on the relevant committees within the Mayoral Authority.
However you approach it, be clear about why you’re doing the hand-in. The aim is to show that there is broad local support for progressive environmental policies, and that the issues people care about most are closely connected to climate justice.
Why?
However you choose to organise your Charter of Hope hand-in, you should be clear why you’re doing it.
We want to make sure that our councils know there is broad support for progressive environment policies and that the issues that matter most to everyday people are connected to climate justice.
We’re handing in our Charter for Hopes as a way of demanding action on climate, and protection for the positive polices that may already exist within your council (such as declaring a climate emergency). We’re not just making asks — we’re showing that those asks are backed by local people, and that councillors are expected to respond.
When you meet with your council you should be clear about what you’re asking them to do.
Share support online
Depending on the political context you’re operating in, that might mean asking councillors to:
- pose for a photo with the charter
- publicly say how they'll act on the issues raised in it.
In councils where support is unlikely, the hand-in still matters.
Sharing the charter publicly can show local people care about these issues. And it can make it clear that the council is being watched and shouldn't ignore community views. Demonstrating how strongly the community feel about certain issues may be enough to dissuade a council from taking regressive action.
You can do this in a few different ways, depending on what feels right locally. Some groups may want to send the charter directly to key councillors or the council leader first. Others may prefer to arrange a meeting, attend a council meeting, or make a small public hand-in moment of it.
Send it by email
This can work well if you’re short on time, building new relationships, or want to reach several councillors at once. It helps to personalise your message where possible, be clear about what you’re asking for, copy in key council officers (for example if the council has a lead officer on climate change) and follow up if you don’t hear back after a couple of weeks. We’ve provided template emails you can use.
Arrange a meeting
If you’re able to, arranging a meeting can lead to a more meaningful conversation. This could be a small meeting with one or two councillors, or a slightly larger discussion with others and local partners. Meetings are especially useful if you’re looking to build longer-term influence or feel like your council members might be harder to persuade and need more of a push.
It’s worth preparing in advance for your meeting by agreeing who will speak, bringing printed copies of the charter, and being clear about what you want to happen next. Supportive councillors will also be able to suggest opportunities for promoting the asks in the charter of hope as they will know if there is a relevant meeting or consultation coming up for example.
Public stunt
You could also turn the hand-in into a small public moment. This could be as simple as a photo with councillors holding the charter, or a small group gathering outside a council building. This approach can help build visibility. Local media and social media can help make the hand-in feel bigger. A photo, a short quote, or a quick local news story can all help show that the charter represents real public support.
You can get creative with your stunt's ideas too. Walsall Friends of the Earth made a giant ear to represent the community listening that has been part of creating a charter for hope.
Doing a public stunt might work well if you have a council who is challenging to work with and may be regressive on issues of climate and equality. You can use this stunt to push back against regressive policies and let councillors know that the decisions they’re making do not represent the community they are there to serve. Read more about working with challenging councils.
If you aren't sure what would work best with you council contact your regional staff member or [email protected] and we can work it through with you.