Local politics

Participating in local politics is an effective and important method of becoming more involved in your local area. This section looks at 2 topics – Using your vote and Becoming a Councillor.

Using your vote

Politics affects every aspect of your day to day life – from your local environment to the number of buses in your area!

Through your right to vote in local, national and European elections, you can influence the decisions that are made and determine how you want your country to be governed! Local elections take place every 4 years; national (general) elections have to take place within 5 years of the previous election; and European elections take place every 5 years.

To find out who your local representatives are, when future elections are taking place and to register to vote, please visit http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/


Becoming a Councillor

What is a Councillor?

A Councillor is one of a number of persons (usually 3 or 4) who has been elected to represent a specific area/ community on the Council. Local elections take place every four years.

A Councillor has 3 main areas of responsibility:

  1. Decision and Policy making
    Councillors make decisions on certain service provisions
  2. Monitoring
    Councillors strive to ensure the decisions they’ve made lead to efficient and effective services
  3. Getting involved locally
    As a representative of a specific area, Councillors often wish to take on other duties in their constituencies, such as attending meetings of local organisations.
    In order to keep up to date with local issues and to assist people on an individual basis, Councillors run regular surgeries.

Becoming a Councillor involves dedicating a lot of time and effort to the role. Most Councillors also have full or part time jobs, so you will need an understanding employer, as most meetings will take place during the working day. The Council will also pay you a basic allowance of up to £15,452 and should cover your expenses.

Why become a Councillor?

People decide to get involved with local politics for all kinds of reasons, these might include:

Requirements

The main requirements for the role are a key interest in the area you are representing, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. Becoming a Councillor is a very rewarding job, where you will pick up a range of skills and experience.

Eligibility

To become a Councillor you must be on the electoral register for the Council area or have worked in the area for at least 12 months. You must also be at least 18 years old, be a British subject, or a citizen of the Irish Republic/ EU and resident in the UK.

You cannot stand as a Councillor if you are sequestrated (bankrupt); if you work for the Council you would become a Councillor for; if you hold a politically restricted post in any Council; or if you have been disqualified under Part III of the Representation of the People Act 1983. You will also not be able to stand if you have been sentenced to a prison term of 3 months or more within 5 years prior to the election.

Independent or affiliated candidate?

If you decided to stand for election, you would need to think whether you would want to stand as an independent candidate or with a political party.

If you chose to stand as an independent candidate, you would avoid the restrictions of being aligned to a particular party. Instead you would have the autonomy and flexibility to carry out the issues you wished to pursue. However, you would need to secure your own practical and financial support.

As a party candidate, you would need to be selected as the party’s candidate. Your local association or constituency party will explain how the selection of candidates works.

How can I become a Councillor?

To become an affiliated candidate, you will need to get in touch with one of your local political parties, who will be listed in your Phone Book under ‘Business and Services’.

If you are looking to become an independent candidate, you will need to submit a nomination paper to the Returning Officer within the nomination period (this is approximately 3 weeks prior to the election).

If you wish to form your own political party, you must register this with the Electoral Commission before you can use that party’s name in an election campaign or have it appear on a ballot paper.

To find out more about becoming a Councillor or an MSP (which involves a £500 cash deposit), please see the Vote Scotland website, http://www.votescotland.com/.

To find your local Elections Officer, or to contact your Returning Officer, please visit the About my Vote website, http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/

Sources: www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork, http://www.votescotland.com/ and http://www.wikipedia.com/