How to become a councillor
To be a local councillor, you must be at least 18 years old and a British, Commonwealth or European citizen. You also need to be a local elector, or have lived, worked or owned a property in the area for at least a year.
There are two main routes to becoming a councillor:
A – Being Elected
Standing either for a political party/group or as an Independent candidate at an election.
You must make sure you are officially nominated as the election date draws near. This means getting 10 people to sign nomination papers (signatories must be registered electors in the ward where you wish to stand).
B – Being Co-opted
Co-option in what happens in the event there are not enough candidates at election time, and the Council chooses who will fill the vacant seat on the Council.
Whichever route you take to becoming a councillor, once you formally accept the office, it makes no difference; you are councillors working together to serve your community. Your task is to bring local issues to the attention of the council, and help it make decisions on behalf of the local community.
Want to know more about being a Town Councillor?
The link below will play a short video in which local people in Wales talk about their roles as town and community councillors.
www.onevoicewales.org.uk/OVWWeb/UserFiles/Files/OVW ENGLISH.mp4
If you would like to learn more about the 735 town and community councils in Wales, you can access a wide range of information on the One Voice Wales website by clicking on the link below:
