How to become a Parish Councillor

As a Parish or Town Councillor you would be representing the people of a Parish or Parish Ward. To become a Parish/Town Councillor you have to be elected to one of the seats on the Parish/Town Council.

The Parish/Town Councils hold all out elections every four years.

You could be a Parish/Town Councillor if:

• you are 18 years old or over;
• you are a British, Commonwealth or Irish citizen or a citizen of another Member State of the European Union. ·Please click here for details of these nations.

AND

• you are registered as a voter in the Parish/Town; OR
• you are the owner or tenant of any land or premises in the Parish/Town; OR
• your principal or only place of work for the past 12 months or more has been in the Parish/Town; OR
• you have lived in the Parish/Town for the past 12 months or within 4.8km of it.

You cannot seek election if:

• you work for the Local Authority which has the vacancy or hold a politically restricted post
• are an undischarged bankrupt
• have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment in the past 5 years
• have been disqualifed under any enactment relating to corrupt or illegal practices

Having qualified for election, you would need to be nominated, after the Notice of Election has been published, by a proposer and a seconder, who all must live in the Parish/Town for which you are seeking election.

Standing for election 2012

Nomination papers will be available from the Civic Offices, Fleet from (date to be confirmed). Nomination papers can be submitted between the (date to be confirmed) and noon on the (date to be confirmed).

Supporting Information & Forms

If you want to read more, a wealth of information for prospective candidates is available from the Electoral Commission.  The link to their web site is here.

This site also includes a set of nomination papers.

The Returning Officer has also published a timetable for the parish elections and this is available in the download box above.

Guidance for where to hand in nomination papers and other information that is local to the Hart electoral area can also be found in the download box.

ALL OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED IN GOOD FAITH BUT YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT IN ALL ELECTORAL MATTERS PRECISE INTERPRETATION AND ADHERENCE TO THE LEGISLATION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CANDIDATE ALONE