Yes for the national (general) election.
For the local election you vote for a candidate (so you know who you are voting for as your local councillor)), but the party that wins the most seats in the local council get to choose the mayor (who holds a lot of power here). The mayor may or may not...
Yes, definitely (maybe not quite as many though). I have seen the effect here of voting for a party at a local level - if the party chooses someone the local party do not like, it results in riots and deaths (well around here anyway). You have to know who you are voting for. Yes, I know that a...