How To Become a Councillor

The official steps to becoming a Councillor are:

1. Official nomination is submitted to the Returning Officer
2. If nomination is valid, name appears on notice of election first, then as candidate on ballot paper
3. Candidate appoints Election Agent
4. Candidate and supporters campaign for votes
5. Votes are cast in the election using the Single Transferable Vote system (from May 2007 onwards)

Detailed guidance for prospective Candidates and election agents is available from the Electoral Commission.

In the meantime, read on for more details about:

• Nominations
• Election Agents
• Campaign Material

Nominations

To stand for election to a particular ward, a nomination paper must be submitted to the Returning Officer on behalf of the candidate.

The candidate must agree to the nomination in writing for it to be valid.

The candidate must also declare that he or she is not disqualified from standing.

Returning Officers are not required to determine whether a candidate is disqualified from standing.

It is a serious offence to include false information on the nomination or consent, and a person found guilty of such an offence may face imprisonment for up to a year or an unlimited fine.

The nomination paper must contain:

• The candidate's full name and, if wanted, any name by which the candidate is commonly known e.g. Joanne Kathleen Rowling, commonly known as JK Rowling
• Full home address
• If he or she is standing as the candidate of a registered political party
• A description which must be either the name or description of a registered party or the word 'Independent'
• If a description is submitted, it must be accompanied by a certificate of authorisation from that registered party's Nominating Officer
• A signature of a witness

The description will appear on the ballot paper along with the candidate's full name and home address.

A registered emblem of the party can also appear on the ballot paper if it is requested in writing.

Full details on how nominations are handled are available from the Returning Officer for your Local Council area.

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Election Agents

Each candidate must appoint an Election Agent.

Candidates can choose to act as their own Election Agent.

The Election Agent is responsible for the proper management of the candidate's campaign.

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Campaign Material

Campaign publicity material is subject to a number of restrictions under electoral law, and is also subject to the general civil and criminal law relating to published material.

All posters, placards and bills that refer to the election must carry an imprint on the face giving the name and address of each of the printer, the publisher, and the promoter of the material.

This also applies to all printed material distributed to promote the election of a candidate.