Town and parish council elections in Suffolk Coastal
Town and parish council elections in Suffolk
Coastal are held every four years with the latest full elections
taking place on 5 May 2011. By-elections may be held to fill vacant
seats as and when they occur.
Town and parish councillors are elected for a term of four years
and must seek re-election at the next full elections if they
wish to remain in office. Any councillor elected mid-term as a
result of a by-election must also seek re-election at the next full
elections.
If you are interested in standing,
contact your local town or parish council and
they will be able to give you more information.
You can download
'All about local councils' (new window PDF
546KB) - a booklet produced by National Association of Local
Councils (NALC) and the Electoral Commission if you want to know
more about parish, town, neighbourhood and community councils
and the role of local councillors.
This webpage will give you a brief overview of standing for a
town or parish council election and the links will take you to more
detailed information.
Who can stand?
You can stand for election to a parish or town council if you
are:
- A British citizen, or a citizen of the Commonwealth or the
European Union, and
- 18 years or older on the day you become nominated for
election.
And if ...
- You are registered as a local government elector for the parish
for which you want to stand; or
- You have, for the whole 12 month period up to the date of the
election, occupied (as owner or tenant) land or other premises in
the parish; or
- Your principal or only place of work during that same 12 months
period has been in the parish; or
- You have during the whole of that same 12 month period resided
in the parish or within 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) of it.
You may, of course, qualify under more than one of the above
categories.
You cannot be a candidate if:
- You are employed by the parish or town council or hold a paid
office under the council (including employment by any joint boards
or committees of the council).
- You are the subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or
interim order.
- You have, within five years before the day of the election,
been convicted in the United Kingdom of any offence and have had a
prison sentence (whether suspended or not) for a period of over
three months without the option of a fine.
- You have been disqualified under Part III of the Representation
of the People Act 1983 (which relates to donations and other
offences) or under the Audit Commission Act 1998.
Do I need to be a member of a political party?
No, you don’t have to be, as most town and parish councils are
not political and most councillors sit as independent members of
the council.
Nominations
Nomination papers must be signed by two electors (a proposer and
seconder) who must be registered to vote in the parish/town/parish
ward for which you stand. The papers are available to download
below or they can be obtained from the Returning Officer at Suffolk
Coastal's Woodbridge offices by calling 01394
444329.
It does not cost anything to stand for election to a town or
parish council.
For further advice about nominations you can call Suffolk
Coastal's elections team on 01394 444329 or email
elections@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Election expenses
Every candidate must make a declaration of their election
expenses even if the election is uncontested. Follow the link below
for guidance and a spending return form:
Contested and uncontested elections
A statement of all the nominations will be published after they
close including the names of those candidates validly nominated and
those who no longer stand nominated (for example, invalid and
withdrawn candidates, if any), with the reason why they no longer
stand nominated.
If there are sufficient validly nominated candidates for the
election to be contested, a notice of poll will follow giving
further information about where and when the election will take
place.
If, after the close of nominations and the time allowed for
withdrawals, the total number of validly nominated candidates is
less than or equal to the number of seats to be filled at the
election, those candidates will be elected as town or parish
councillors without contest.
If vacancies remain unfilled the town or parish council must
co-opt further members.
Further information
More detailed information about standing for election as a town
or parish councillor is available in the guidance for candidates
published by the Electoral Commission:
Code of conduct and register of interests
A newly elected councillor has to sign an undertaking, as part
of their written declaration of acceptance of office, that they
will observe the council's code of conduct. A signed declaration
and undertaking must be received by the clerk of the parish or town
council before a newly elected member can carry out any duties as a
councillor.
In addition, all councillors have to complete a register of
interests within 28 days of the election, which anyone can lawfully
ask to see.
The code of conduct sets out the rules governing the behaviour
of councillors in local authorities across the country. Prospective
candidates are advised to read the code before standing for
election so that they are aware of what will apply to them, and be
sure that they are willing to complete the requirements for the
register of interests.
A copy of the code of conduct is available for inspection at
district, parish and town council offices and is included in Part 5
of Suffolk Coastal's Constitution.
Useful links