Election as a parish /town councillor and co-option criteria and disqualification as a Councillor

Election as a Parish/ Town Councillor and criteria to be checked prior to co-option &

disqualification criteria before election/co-option and during a term of office as a councillor

To be able to stand as a candidate at a parish council election 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:

The qualifications

When completing your consent to nomination form you will be asked to indicate which qualifications you meet. You should indicate on the form all those qualifications that apply to you.

a. Being a registered local government elector

To be able to use this qualification, your name must appear on the register of local government electors for the parish at the time of your nomination and throughout your term of office should you be elected. Unlike the other qualifications that must only be satisfied on the day of your nomination and on polling day, this is an on-going qualification. We therefore recommend that if you meet any of the other qualifications as well, you also indicate this on your consent to nomination, which is one of the required nomination papers.

b. Occupying as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish area

To be able to use this qualification, you must have occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish area during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and before polling day. You must occupy 'land or other premises' to meet this qualification. The inclusion of the words 'other premises' can be taken as something other than land (i.e. some form of structure). Because 'land' and 'other premises' are alternatives it is, in theory, possible for a person to meet this qualification by occupying land only. There are some structures that might, arguably, fall outside the term 'premises' (e.g. a tent, caravan, house boat or mobile home). However, a person occupying such a structure need only establish occupancy of the land on which, for example their tent, is located. If the land or premises crosses the parish boundary, the land/premises is 'in that area' with respect to both parishes. 

You must also occupy the land or other premises as an 'owner' or 'tenant'. Ownership may be established by showing title to the land or premises in question. Tenancy is established by showing a lease over the land. In a number of circumstances, a lease will survive even though it has expired and the parties have failed to sign a new lease, and the tenancy survives through tacit agreement between the parties. Therefore, there may be circumstances in which a person's tenancy of land or premises might need to be established by evidence other than a current lease. You must also have 'occupied' the land or premises. Therefore, in addition to establishing legal ownership or legal tenancy, you must establish that you have actually occupied the land or premises. This is a question of fact in each case. The interpretation of the term 'occupy' in other legal contexts suggests that it is not necessary for a person to be personally resident on the land or premises (which would in any event be covered by the qualification of 'lived in the parish area’). However, it does require something to be actually done on the land or premises – an empty unlocked house cannot be described as 'occupied', for example. It also requires a sufficient degree of control to exclude or prevent strangers from interfering with the land or premises. If you have sub-let all of your land or premises to another person, this will point against you having 'occupied' it yourself.  Finally, you must have occupied the land or premises 'during the whole of the twelve months preceding' the day on which you are nominated and polling day. Whether an absence will prevent you from claiming that you have occupied the land or premises for the preceding year should be worked out by taking into account all other factors: for instance, whether you have allowed others to occupy the land or premises in your absence, and the reason for your absence.

c. Your main or only place of work is in the parish area

To be able to use this qualification, your main or only place of work must have been in the parish area during the 12 months prior to your nomination and prior to polling day itself. You do not have to be in paid employment to qualify, as long as you satisfy the requirement of your main or only place of work being in the parish area. Councillors whose main or only job is being a councillor would be able to use this qualification, provided that their place of work is within the parish.

d. Living in the parish area (or within three miles of it

To be able to use this qualification, you are not required to have lived at the same address for the whole of the 12 months before the day on which you are nominated, but you must have lived in the same parish area, or within three miles of it, during the whole of those 12 months.  If in the last 12 months you have lived at more than one address in the parish (or within three miles of it);

• You should declare on the home address form all of the addresses at which you have lived during that period.

This qualification also requires you to live in the parish area, or within three miles of it, from the date of nomination to polling day. 

Apart from the first qualification when the councillor would cease to be a councillor when they cease to be on the electoral register during their term all the other qualifications only need to apply on the day of nomination and polling day and they can remain on the parish council for their whole term. That can only be challenged by an election petition explained below.

What happens to the election paperwork after the result is announced?

All election documents are retained by the Electoral Registration Officer and most are available for public inspection. Please note that ballot papers are not open to public inspection.

Lodging an election petition

Only certain people can lodge an election petition, and only under specific circumstances.  An election petition can be presented by:

• someone claiming to have been a candidate at the election, or

• at least four electors (not anonymously registered electors) who had a right to vote at the election (although they need not have voted)

 The allowable grounds for a petition are that:

• the successful candidate was disqualified at the time of the election

• the successful candidate was not duly elected

• the election was invalidated by corrupt or illegal practices

• the election was invalidated because of general corruption or the employment of a corrupt canvasser/ agent

Normally, a petition must be presented within 21 calendar days after the date of the election.

However, if the petition complains of corrupt or illegal practices involving the payment of money or other reward, or an illegal practice relating to election spending, further time may be allowed.

Parish /Town Councillor Disqualifications

There are certain people who are disqualified from being elected or co-opted to a parish/town council and if they apply to a current parish/town councillor their term will come to an end.

You cannot be a candidate if at the time of your nomination and on polling day:

a. You are employed by the parish council or hold a paid office under the parish council (including joint boards or committees).

b. You are the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or interim order.

c. You have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more (including a suspended sentence), without the option of a fine, during the five years before polling day and the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or applications in respect of the conviction has passed. A person who is in the process of making an appeal or application in relation to the conviction is not disqualified at any time before the end of the day on which the appeal or application is disposed of, abandoned or fails by reason of non-prosecution.

d. You have been disqualified under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (which covers corrupt or illegal electoral practices). The disqualification for an illegal practice begins from the date the person has been reported guilty by an election court or convicted and lasts for three years. The disqualification for a corrupt practice begins from the date a person has been reported guilty by an election court or convicted and lasts for five years, unless at any time within that period a court determines that the conviction should not be upheld, in which case the disqualification ends at that time.

e. You are subject to the notification requirement of or under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application in respect of the order or notification has passed. A disqualification set under s.81A of the Local Government Act 1972 will only apply to a person who is subject to any relevant notification requirements or relevant order made on or after 28 June 2022. A person who is in the process of making an appeal or application in relation to the disqualification is not disqualified at any time before the end of the day on which the appeal or application is disposed of, abandoned or fails by reason of non-prosecution.

f. A person may also be disqualified from being or becoming a member of certain authorities following a conviction under the Localism Act 2011.

Disqualifications are complex and may need to be checked carefully against the latest guidance on the Electoral Commission website and with LALC to be certain if they apply or not. 

This information was extracted on 8th June 2023 from Electoral Commission website - it may change over time so please check to ensure it is still current.