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Many individuals want to take a greater role in their community
and give something back by becoming a local councillor. It is a
fulfilling role, but also an incredibly time consuming one,
which should not be taken on lightly without full consideration.
To stand in a council election there are some legal
requirements. First, you must be a British or Commonwealth
citizen of at least 21 years of age, be of sound mind, free from
bankruptcy and imprisonment (no more than 3 months can have been
served within the last 5 years). You cannot be an employee of
the council you are standing for, or a senior manager of any
other council in Britain and must not have committed a
disqualifying election offence within the period specified for
that offence (as stated by the court). In addition you must
either be on the electoral register for the council area you are
standing for, have lived within the council area you are
standing for 12 months, have worked there for the last 12 months
or owned premises there for 12 months. This is not within the
ward but the council's boundaries.
If you are able to pass the above criteria, then you are
entitled to stand for council. Your first step should be to work
out how you wish to stand: for a registered political party or
as an independent. People can no longer put down whatever they
wish on a ballot paper: they either need official authorisation
of a registered party or are independents. If you have political
leanings one way or another, most local political parties will
be more than happy to hear from you, although you will have to
be aware that selections for winnable wards can often be
incredibly tough, with many candidates competing for the same
nomination.
If, on the other hand, you wish to stand as an independent your
job is going to be much harder. Registered political parties
have the benefit of having a pool of knowledge to call upon,
since more than one individual is involved. Some of the larger
political parties, such as the Conservative Party and the Labour
Party, will also employ full time professional staff to support
in the more complex areas such as election law. They are also
much more likely to have existing structures locally to assist
with the logistics such as delivering leaflets, knocking on
doors, helping electors to the polls on the day of the elections.
As a lone individual independent your job is much harder, but
you will have greater freedom. You can devise your own personal
manifesto that you are standing on, rather than being bound by
party lines. You can stand where you want without having to go
through a selection. But you will also have to work a lot harder
to get your message across. National parties get far greater
exposure from the media and financial support from donors: an
independent has to find their own funds and promote their own
campaign, using just contacts and friends.
Once you have decided, contact your local council's electoral
services department. You can find the number for this by calling
directory enquiries and being routed from the main council
switchboard. It is from the staff here you will need to discover
the really important information: the date of the next election
in the area you wish to stand, the deadlines for all paperwork
(including, most importantly, the nomination forms so you can
stand in the first place), the amount you will be allowed to
spend on your election and the relevant forms. Most councils
will have an information pack for candidates, containing this
information and other helpful advice and legal necessities.
However if yours does not, contact the Electoral Commission on
0207 271 0505, as they are the overseeing body for all elections
in Great Britain and have a comprehensive database of
information.
The basic requirements to legally stand as a candidate include
that you submit a valid nomination paper containing 10
signatories of electors on the electoral register at the date of
the election for the ward in which you are standing (2 for
parish and town council). Candidates are entitled to one copy of
the electoral register for their ward, but please make sure this
is up to date as the register changes on a monthly basis. Ensure
that you get your nomination form in before the deadline so that
there is time for checking and the gathering of a new nomination
form if there are any problems with the original one. Your
timetable from the electoral services department should give you
all the relevant submission dates and deadlines for this.
Another requirement you are legally obliged to do as a candidate
is to submit a valid return on election expenses within one
month of the election's result being announced, which are a true
and detailed account of all monies spent in the election period.
You can, if you wish, appoint an election agent who is
responsible for this instead, but if you do not appoint such an
individual (by the date given on the timetable) you will be seen
to be your own election agent. Election expenses cover the
period laid out in the guidelines and to overspend is a criminal
offence. These limits are set so that no party or individual is
allowed an unfair advantage during election time, although you
can spend as much as you wish outside of it. It is also very
important to know that only the agent, or any nominated sub
agents, is authorised to spend money. This is to stop
expenditure getting out of control.
A list of election offences will be provided by your local
council, which will include (but not be restricted to) bribery,
treating and impersonation. There are also many other rules: for
example all printed literature must carry an imprint, which
tells of the agent, candidate and printer's addresses. It is
very important that you read these rules in great detail for
some of them are quite complex.
Although it is by no means a legal requirement, if you wish to
be elected you will also have to campaign. Leaflets are an
excellent way to get your message across to as many people as
possible in a short space of time, but personal contact is far
more efficient, if time consuming. Street stalls (with
permission), door to door canvassing, house and public meetings
all provide opportunities to meet and connect with the voters.
If you have not been put off already by the amount of work
involved, it is worth giving one last thought to whether you
will be able to meet the demands of being a councillor. Time
requirements vary on the level of council, but you should allow
for at least 2 evenings a week being taken up with meetings and
dealing with residents' problems. In addition there will also be
large amounts of paperwork to be read and appraised before
meetings and numerous calls and letters from local residents.
Most councillors do the job part-time, as payment is expenses
only unless you are given special responsibilities such as
committee chairing. It is a labour of love, not a job with great
financial rewards.
Being a councillor is a time consuming job, but an incredibly
rewarding one also. If you still wish to stand, good luck and
keep me updated on how you go on!
About the author:
Andrea is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site
for Creative Writing. Her
online writing portfolio can be found at
http://astephenson.writing.com and she is heavily involved in
British politics.
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