Town seeks councillors
Langport Town Council is calling for people to stand for election in the town council elections on Thursday 2nd May. The town has quite a small electorate but still has 11 councillors. And every place needs to be filled.
And even though the rules allow you to be a council as long as you live within 3 miles of the town or parish boundary that’s still quite a tough ask. Especially for a town with a population within the town boundary (that does not include those who live next door in the much larger Huish Episcopi Parish) of barely 1,000 souls.
Chair of the council Val Saunders explains “‘Gone are the days when local Councils were packed by local dignitaries…… Today’s local councillors are a mixed crew of people representing their entire communities, and from all backgrounds. They are women and men who are representative of age, disability, sexuality, race, faith groups, waged or unwaged.”
To qualify to stand for election you need to be:
British or a citizen of the Commonwealth or European Union
at least 18 years old
registered to vote in the area
have lived, worked or owned property in your local council area
for at least 12 months, or
live within three miles of the town boundary
Do you care about the community in which you live or work? Then it is not only critical that you vote, it is important that you also consider standing for parish or town elections too.
This is the process: anyone wishing to stand for election:
You must first find two eligible people to nominate you and submit completed and signed forms.
Those nominating must be on the electoral roll of the council for which you are standing.
Forms are available from either South Somerset District Council offices, or from your local Clerk. Forms must be submitted by 4pm on Wednesday 3rd April, delivered by hand to the South Somerset District Council offices in Yeovil.
So if you want to make a difference in your community, whether it is Langport or any one of the parishes or towns across Somerset, please think carefully about putting yourself forward. You may even enjoy the challenges!