Shropshire Elections May 2025,  Telford Elections May 2027, 

MAKE A CHANGE BECOME A COUNCILLOR

Are you passionate about your community? Do you want to help make a long-lasting change? Do you have innovative ideas for the council? Do you have concerns about a specific issue and want to do something about it? If this is you, then we need you. We need people from all backgrounds and experiences who reflect their community to put themselves forward for election. Make a change and become a councillor.

WHAT DO LOCAL COUNCILS AND COUNCILLORS DO?

Local (parish and town) councils and councillors make a massive difference to local people's quality of life. They are passionate about their communities and seek to make a change to help improve their residents' lives. 

Local councils run numerous services, depending on the size of the council. Many you will see day-to-day, but some are less known. These include introducing solar panels, setting up dementia-friendly groups, organising community buses, creating neighbourhood plans, implementing suitable housing, establishing youth projects, managing allotments and open spaces, maintaining footpaths, public seating and litter bins.

Councillors are elected to represent the local community, so you must either live or work in the council area. Becoming a councillor is a rewarding experience as you will be able to make a change in your community to help improve residents' lives. A councillor’s role can include developing strategies and plans for the area, helping with problems and ideas, representing the community, working with other local community groups, decision making and reviewing decisions and talking to the community about their needs and what the council is doing.

How much time does it take up?
Quite often councillors say that their duties occupy them for about three hours a week. Obviously, there are some councillors who spend more time than this – and some less, but in the main, being a local councillor is an enjoyable way of contributing to your community and helping to make it a better place to live and work.

Am I qualified?
To be able to stand as a candidate at a parish council election in England or a community council election in Wales you must:

• be at least 18 years old
• be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of any member state of the European Union, and meet at least one of the following four qualifications:
• (i) on that day he/she is and thereafter he/she continues to be a local government elector for the area of the parish; or 12
• (ii) he/she has during the whole of the twelve months preceding that day occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish; or
• (iii) his/her principal or only place of work during that twelve months has been in that area; or
• (iv) he/she has during the whole of those twelve months resided either in the parish or within 4.8 kilometres of it.(i) on that day he/she is and thereafter he/she continues to be a local government elector for the area of the parish; or 12 (ii) he/she has during the whole of the twelve months preceding that day occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish; or (iii) his/her principal or only place of work during that twelve months has been in that area; or (iv) he/she has during the whole of those twelve months resided either in the parish or within 4.8 kilometres of it.

There are specific rules around candidacy. The full range of disqualifications for candidates is quite complex and some exceptions may apply.  Please visit the Electoral Commission Website for their Candidate Guidance

The National Association of Local Councils has a dedicated elections webpage , here you will find several short video recordings from parish/town councillors from across England, giving their account of what being a parish/town councillor means to them.