Becoming a Councillor in Fylde
Image of a Meeting Table
Details of how you can serve your community as a local councillor.
Do you want to make a difference to your local community? Do you want to improve local services for everyone? Do you want to have a say in the future of your local area? If you answer yes to any of these questions then you should seriously consider becoming a local councillor in the Fylde.
Local councillors are respected in the community and take real action to make a difference to the lives of everyone in the borough. Every four years there are elections for councillors in the Fylde and new candidates are always encouraged to come forward.
This page is dedicated to providing you with all the information that you need to become a councillor in Fylde and the process you need to go through to put forward your interest. It is far easier than you could ever imagine to become a councillor and the rewards are immeasurable.
The next elections in the Fylde will be the Lancashire County Council Elections which will take place in 2009 when the public will have their say on who they want to represent them at the County Council. The next Borough Council elections will take place in 2011. All types of people become councillors, old, young, professionals, farmers, labourers, students, nurses, firemen, police officers, judges, refuse collectors and even in the case of Hartlepool a man dressed as a monkey!
It is not necessary to be aligned to any political party to stand as a candidate, however, if you are of a particular political persuasion the various political groups will always welcome new members and especially people interested in representing them as local councillors. The contact details for all the main political groups in this area together with details of other registered political parties are included in the list of links on the right of this page under 'external links'. The local Council does not endorse any political group.
Details of all the current councillors at Fylde can be found on this web site by using the 'related links' on this page. The details include contact numbers and e-mail addresses that can be used to enquire about life as a councillor at Fylde. So if you are interested in becoming the next leader of your local community and perhaps beyond to county or national community leadership, even the Prime Minister starts somewhere, then read on.
What do councillors do?
Councillors have three main components to their work.
1. Decision making - Through meetings and attending committees with other elected members, councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered and what policies should be implemented all of which have a direct impact on the local community.
2. Monitoring - Councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working.
3. Getting involved locally - As local representatives, councillors have responsibilities towards their constituents and spend time at meetings of local organisation's such as tenants' association's, taking up issues on behalf of members of the public, running a surgery (question and answer session) for residents to bring up issues and meeting with individual residents in their own homes.
The best way to find out more is to come and see us at Fylde. Contact the Deputy Returning Officer (listening@fylde.gov.uk) or talk to any of our current councillors and get the facts from the horses mouth. Members of the public are more than welcome to come to any meeting details of which can be found on this site. At present most of the meetings are in the Town Hall in St Anne's or at Lowther Pavilion in Lytham and they usually start at 7pm.
Yes - most people are qualified. However there are a few rules, you have to be:
- a British subject, or a citizen of the Commonwealth or the European Union; and
- 18 years of age or over;
You cannot stand for election if you
- are subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or interim order
- have, within five years before the day of the election, been convicted in the United Kingdom of any offence and have had a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of over three months without the option of a fine
- you work for Fylde Borough Council but you can work for other authorities such as Lancashire County Council or Blackpool Borough Council.
I am not a member of a political party, can I stand for election to Fylde Borough Council?
Some councillors are not party political. If you wish to stand as a party political candidate, you are also welcome to do so. Contact your party's local office Conservative Party (www.conservatives.com), Green Party (www.greenparty.org.uk), Labour Party (www.labour.org.uk), Liberal Democrats (www.libdems.org.uk) for more information. Details of independent councillors can be found on the Local Government Association's web site at http://independentgroup.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=311947
Nomination Process
Nomination packs together with a candidates guide (when available) can be found on the related content link under - Borough & Parish Elections. The candidate's surname, forenames, residence and description (if required) must be entered and his or her number and prefix letter from the current register of electors. The nomination paper must also contain similar particulars of a proposer and a seconder. They must be electors for Fylde Borough Council. The application form can be downloaded from this page by clicking the link to the right.
What Next?
If you need to know more then contact the council or any of the councillors, get a form completed, see some meetings in action and make a difference to your life and that of everyone you care about. We would be delighted to hear from you.
