How to Become a Councillor

To stand for election to become a councillor you must satisfy the following criteria on the day you are nominated and on polling day:

Qualification

• be at least 18 years of age on the day you are nominated; and

• be a British citizen, a qualifying citizen of a Commonwealth country, a citizen of the Irish Republic, or a citizen of another member state of the European Union.

You must also meet at least one of the four following qualifications on the day you are nominated and on polling day:

• be registered as a local government elector for the local authority area in which you are standing; or

• have occupied as an owner or a tenant any land or premises in the local authority area in which you are standing during the whole of the 12 months before the day you are nominated; or

• have had your main or only place of work during the last 12 months in the local authority area in which you are standing; or

• have lived in the local authority area in which you are standing during the whole of the last 12 months.

Disqualification

You may be disqualified as a candidate if you work for the Council or hold a politically restricted post with another local authority. Bankruptcy or a previous criminal conviction with a three-month or more prison sentence would also disqualify you as a candidate.

Guidance

Most candidates are nominated through a political party. However, individuals are welcome to stand in their own right. Before you can be accepted as a candidate you must have a proposer, a seconder and eight assentors. All of these people must be on the Electoral Register for the relevant Ward of the Borough. District letters and numbers are available from Parish Council Clerks or the Electoral Registration Department.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is responsible for running local elections and also run County elections on behalf of Norfolk County Council and general elections on behalf of central government.

Full elections are held in all wards every four years in May.