How to STAND IN LOCAL ELECTIONS
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How To Stand In Local Elections
How To Stand In Local Elections
Standing in a local election is one of the easiest ways that individuals can engage in politics and the democratic process of our country. Anyone over 18 can stand (subject to some rules) and if you win you can influence such matters as council tax, policing, building, social housing and local investment.
You CAN influence policy that affects you and those around you. Here’s how to do it:
1. Make sure you understand what a council is and what it does. A council is a local authority and is run by permanent staff but controlled by elected representatives (councilors). Councilors are elected by their ward- a small area within the larger town or district. A typical district council could have 40 councilors or so. Wards elect their councilor every 4 years but not all wards vote in the same year. Wards tend to range in size from 4000-6000 voters. Identify an upcoming election you want to stand in. This information will be available on the council’s website. To be eligible to stand, you must prove some connection to the area. This could be having lived there or worked there. If you work for a local authority, are bankrupt or have had a jail sentence of 3 months or more in the last 5 years, you cannot stand as a candidate. If you have a choice of wards to choose from it is advisable to find previous election results (on the council website) to gauge the support of each party in the ward. This may help you estimate your chances of winning. 2. If you want to be a party candidate, you will need permission to stand for that party and to use the party logo. The party logo is very important as voters need to easily identify on the ballot paper the party you are standing for. The regional coordinator or branch chairman of the party would usually be the person who decides this. This can be very easy or quite difficult depending on the local party infrastructure. 3. You must then obtain an electoral pack from the council offices which contains all the necessary paperwork you need to register. You must collect 10 signatures from people
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How To Stand In Local Elections
within the ward where you want to stand who will act as nominees. They must be on the electoral roll. You then present the 10 signatures to the elections officer at the council offices along with other paperwork. At this point will need to provide written consent from your party to stand as a party candidate (if applicable). You will be then registered as a candidate. You will receive written confirmation of this from the council and will also receive a list of the other candidates and a copy of the electoral register if your request one. The electoral register is important as it identifies the boundaries of the ward in which you stand and all those who are entitled vote in the election. For campaigning purposes this is crucial. You can choose to be what is termed a ‘paper candidate’. This is when somebody registers as a candidate but does no campaigning and does not expect to win. Paper candidates are often too busy to campaign and are encouraged by parties to stand as it is considered better to have somebody to vote for the party than nobody at all. 4. Campaign! You will probably wish to design and print leaflets. You need to decide what your message will be and what you would do if elected. This requires some understanding of local issues and concerns. Decent quality Leaflet printing will likely be the main expense of your campaign; it can cost between £100 to £200 to print 5,000 A4 leaflets. Your local party may be able to help with campaign costs. Once you have your leaflets, or other promotional materials, you need to deliver them. This is laborious and time consuming but is considered essential if you entertain thoughts of winning. Identifying local supporters to help you leaflet is advisable. Putting up signs on local authority property life walls or poles is a legal grey area and best avoided but you may wish to ask people if they would put up a sign in the window or garden. The day of the election voters will be able to vote in one or more polling stations. These tend to take place in a larger, centralized place like a sports hall for example, either the same day or the following morning. You may turn up to the count with an electoral agent. If you choose not to attend, your agent can do so and monitor the counting process to ensure correct procedure. When the votes are counted, the returning officer will announce the result. The winner will be duly elected onto the council. This is democracy in action. It is remarkably easy to get involved and you will find that your local council will make it as easy as possible.
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How To Stand In Local Elections Writers: Andrew Scuoler
Editor: Matteo Bergamini
Designer Matteo Bergamini
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