Information for candidates

Candidates briefings

 Westerham Town Council will be running two workshops for potential candidates on: –

Saturday 25^th February 11 am to 12 noon

Wednesday 8^th March 7 pm to 8 pm

Come along and find out if this role could be for you!

Candidates can be nominated through a political party or can stand in their own right. If you are standing on behalf of a political party, you must gain their permission first. You can stand in your own right as an ‘independent’ candidate.

To stand for election, on the day of nomination you must be aged 18 years of age or over and a UK citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of any member state of the European Union.

Election Criteria

For Town & Parish council elections you must also meet at least one of the following criteria:

• you are, and will continue to be, registered as a local government elector for the parish / town area in which you wish to stand from the day of your nomination onwards;
• you have occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish / town area  during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election;
• your main or only place of work during the 12 months prior to the day of your nomination and the day of election has been in the parish / town area; or
• you have lived in the parish / town area or within 3 miles of it during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election.

 You can’t be a councillor if you:

• work for the council
• hold a politically restricted post in another authority
• are bankrupt
• have served a prison sentence (including suspended sentence) of three months or more, in the five years before election day
• have been disqualified under any legislation relating to corrupt or illegal practices
• have been a subject to the notification requirement of or under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003

How to stand

Full guidance on how to stand for the elections is on the Electoral Commission’s website. The guidance covers eligibility; how to stand; permitted expenditure; the campaign; your rights and what happens after the declaration of the result. Specific advice for Parish Councillor Candidates can be found here.

If you are thinking of becoming a parish councillor and want to serve your local community, The National Association of Local Council has general advice and information.

Important information on nominations

 Nominations will open on Monday 20 March at 10am and close at 4pm on Tuesday 4 April.

Nominations can be submitted on any week day from 10am to 4pm to the Conference Room at the Council Offices, Argyle Road, TN13 1HG.

 Nomination packs can be downloaded from – https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media/5016

The pack will include essential information about the polls and key documents to complete and return, such as the nomination paper to be hand delivered to the Returning Officer.

Nomination papers for independent candidates are provided in Part 2a and for party candidates in Part 2b.

Sevenoaks District Council will kindly be asking that candidates wishing to submit nomination papers book an appointment. This is not essential, but it is likely to save them from waiting until a colleague is available to accept their papers. Appointments can be booked by emailing elections@sevenoaks.gov.uk or calling 01732 227000 and asking to speak to the Elections Team.