Join our Youth Council for our annual ‘Easter Treasure Hunt’ on The Square in Wolverton between 11am and 2pm on Thursday 17th April 2025. For more information visit our Easter Treasure Hunt Event Page.
What do Councillors do?
Parish/Town Councillors are elected members of local government, they conduct their business within a legal framework and are responsible to all the residents in the parish/town. Councillors serve a four-year term (with possible extension). Councillors are community-minded people with a desire to participate in shaping the future of their parish/town. Councillors represent a diversity of thinking and backgrounds, representative of everyone who lives in their community.
Councils have extensive powers and can lead on a range of issues. They can take climate action, encourage biodiversity, support residents in food and fuel poverty and create sustainable, happy communities with socially active young people and provision for the elderly. Councillors have responsibility for running local services which include allotments, Council owned venues, youth groups and dog waste bins. They decide how much money to raise through the Council tax to deliver these Council’s services.
They influence and shape the long-term development policy for the parish, and as part of the planning process, comment on planning applications. A Councils’ Neighbourhood Development Plan is its greatest insurance policy against inappropriate development; it goes a long way to preserving the parish heritage and lifestyle and is spearheaded by Councillors and residents who work together to improve the quality of life and the environment in their local area.
Councillors work to identify issues which are important to the lives of the residents they represent. They bring about improvements through local projects, lobbying other service providers and working in partnership with other parishes and agencies.
Prospective candidates are encouraged to attend their Council meetings to give them a clearer picture of what Councils do and the role they might play on their Council.
How do I become a Town Councillor?
There are three ways that you can become a Councillor; standing for election, filling a vacant seat after an election (co-opted) or filling a casual vacancy. You can find out more about becoming a Councillor on The Electoral Commission, National Association of Local Councils and Local Government Association website.
Standing for election
There are six simple steps to becoming a Councillor:
- Check for elections in your area by emailing your elections officer
- Submit your nomination to the returning officer and wait for your nomination to be accepted
- Your nomination is made public by the principal authority
- Start your elections campaign
- Polling day
Vacancies after an election (co-option)
If, after an election, there are some unfilled seats, the local Council should take steps to fill any vacancies by making co-options within 35 days (not counting weekends and public holidays). However, if the Council does not have enough elected members to be a quorum (meaning at least one-third of the council must be elected or three members, whichever is greater), the electoral returning officer must run a by-election to fill the remaining places.
What does a candidate need to do?
- Check with their electoral returning officer if there is a vacancy near you
- Put yourself forward for co-option, the Council may ask you for a CV or invite you for an interview
- The Council will choose their co-opted Councillor
Casual vacancy
A casual vacancy is a seat that becomes available between elections, which may occur for several different reasons, such as a Councillor resigning, becoming disqualified (by committing an offence) or not attending any meetings in six months.
The Clerk will declare the vacancy by posting a note within the parish and notifying the electoral returning officer.
This notice will also confirm that a by-election will be held if at least ten electors request it within 14 days (not including weekends and public holidays). If there is no demand for a by-election, the Council will fill the vacancy by co-option.