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Elections

The next Parish Council elections  in the Durham County Council area will be held on Thurs 1 May 2025.  Election briefings have been arranged in partnership with DCC Electoral Services available to clerks and interested councillors.  For more information and to book, see Town and Parish Council Elections Briefings 2025.

Candidates Standing For Election

All seats become vacant in May 2025 and anyone wishing to stand for their local parish or town council must submit a nomination form during the specified dates (see Election timetable).  Existing councillors’ seats do not roll over, even where a council may not have had a contested election for many years.  The starting point for ordinary elections is that there is a Notice of Election, and if after the deadline for nominations there is the same, or a smaller number of candidates than seats, those nominated are elected uncontested, whereas if there are more candidates than seats there will be an election.

Completed candidate nomination forms (paper copies) must be delivered by hand (by the candidate or someone they trust) to the Returning Officer at County Hall, Durham.  Blank paper copies of this form can be obtained from Electoralservices@durham.gov.uk or 03000 261 212.    Electonic copies of nomination forms can be obtained by completing the Request for Nomination pack form (until 26 March at 12 noon, after this, you’ll need to call them).  Candidates must take particular care when completing their nomination papers as there are requirements for proposers and seconders to sign them, declarations by candidate of their eligibility to stand, a witness to sign and other detail that needs time and attention.  Candidates should read Electoral Commission’s Candidate Guidance.

The parish council clerk can, if they wish, assist with the process by request the requisite number of nomination forms for existing members of their council. However the emphasis remains with each individual councillor to secure their nomination form, complete and return to the Returning Officer.

For full candidate guidance please see the Electoral Commission’s Candidate Guidance.

Durham County Council also has lots of useful information for votes and candidates too at County Council and Parish Council elections – Thursday 1 May 2025 – Durham County Council

Election Timetable

The election timetable for 2025 is shown below.   Polling Day is Thurs 1 May 7am to 10pm

  • Publication of Notice of Election: Thurs 20 March 4pm
  • Submission of candidate nominations: Fri 21 Mar to Weds 2 April 10am to 4pm
  • Final date for withdrawal of candidate: By Weds 2 April 4pm
  • Publication of Notice of Election Agents: By Weds 2 April 4pm
  • Publication of Statements of Persons Nominated: Thurs 3 April 4pm
  • Last date for registration to vote: Fri 11 April
  • Receipt of postal vote applications: By Mon 14 April 5pm
  • Publish Notice of Poll where contested election: tbc but not later than Weds 23 April (it may be combined with the Publication of Statement of Persons Nominated on Thurs 3 April 4pm)
  • Receipt of Proxy Vote Applications: By Weds 23 April 5pm
  • Appointment of Poll and Count Agents: Thurs 24 April
  • First day to issue replacement lost postal ballot papers: Fri 25 April
  • Receipt of Emergency Proxy Vote Applications: By Thurs 1 May 5pm
  • Last day to issue replacement spoilt or lost postal ballot papers: Thurs 1 May 5pm
  • Day of Election: Thurs 1 May 7am to 10pm
  • Declaration of candidates expenses: Thurs 29 May

The pre-election period (formerly known as purdah)

The Pre-election period starts from the date of the Publication of Notice of Election (Thurs 20 March) and ends on polling day. During this period there are limitations on publicity and information that councils can issue affecting the authority’s area to ensure that there can be no perception of seeking to influence public opinion.

Councils should, during the Pre-election period avoid any form of publicity referring to individual councillors, political parties or the election etc and remain completely neutral.  More detailed information can be found in the Recommended code of practice for local authority publicity (particularly section 43).

After The Election Process

Once the election process is finished, councillors normally take up their positions four days after the election when outgoing councillors relinquish their positions too. This will be at 00:01 on Tues 6 May 2025.

Declaration of Acceptance of Office

All councillors need to sign a declaration of acceptance of office form before they can sit as a councillor

Registration of Interests

Within 28 days of taking up office, all councillors must complete a Register of Interest Form.

A copy of councillors Register of Interest Forms must be forwarded to the Monitoring Officer at County Hall and if a council has a website they must be displayed on the website or the council can provide residents with details of the link to the County Councils website directly from their website. Updated Register of Interests forms will be made available to parish clerks/councillors before the election.

Annual Meetings

In an election year a Parish Council must hold its Annual Meeting on, or within 14 days of the day after elected parish councillors take up their position. In a “normal” year the Annual Meeting must be held sometime in May. In County Durham, for 2025, Annual Meetings should therefore be held between Weds 7 and Thurs 22 of May.

The first item on any Annual Meeting agenda must be the election of a Chairman for the ensuing year and this is a statutory requirement. Immediately, or as soon as possible thereafter, if the council allows, the chairman must sign their Declaration of Acceptance of Office form for this position too.

Your council may have set a precedent to elect a Vice Chairman but their is no legal requirement for this appointment. Most councils will appoint a Vice Chairman to deputise for the Chairman. A Declaration of Acceptance of Office Form is not required for the Vice Chairman.

Insufficent Members following elections

Where insufficient members are elected at an ordinary election but the Parish Council nevertheless has a quorum, the Parish Council can fill the vacancies by co-option within 35 working days of the election.

Paragraph 12 of Part II of Schedule 12 to the Local Government Act provides that three or one third of the total number of parish councillors, whichever is greater, is necessary for a meeting to be quorate. The parish clerk should therefore establish whether or not sufficient parish councillors have been elected to constitute a quorum.

For example, if your parish council has twelve “seats” and four are filled at the election (i.e. four councillors were elected), then, provided that all four councillors attended a parish council meeting, that meeting would be quorate and could function.

If, however, only three “seat” were filled at the election your parish council is inquorate and would not be able to function as parish council.

If there are sufficient councillors in the parish council for a quorum, then, provided all of the elected parish councillors needed to establish the quorum turn up to that meeting, new parish councillors can be co-opted to the council.

The parish clerk should then ensure that the requisite steps are taken in respect of this appointment.

If there are insufficient councillors in the parish council for a quorum, the parish clerk should advise Durham County Council’s Returning Officer that they are inquorate. DCC will also advise the clerk as to the steps that will need to be taken in order to fill the vacancies. This could involve running two further election processes to see if a quorum can be achieved and in exceptional circumstances DCC may (by order) appoint persons to fill all or any of the vacancies until other councillors are elected and take up office.

Casual Vacancies Arising After Normal Elections ie unconnected to vacancies after election

Casual vacancies which arise after the elections due to disqualification, resignations, deaths etc need to be filled as soon as possible after the vacancy occurs. The process is:

  • to advertise in your local area details of your vacancy/election to see if there is a demand for an election. An election can be requested by any ten members of your electorate writing to DCC’s electoral services. This needs to be done within fourteen working days of the vacancy/election notice being released. DCC’s electoral services section should be notified immediately of any vacancies and they will provide you with the necessary notice to distribute around your area.
  • If ten members of your electorate request an election you must hold an election and DCC’s Electoral Services section will organise the process for your council but will, unfortunately, invoice your council for the costs of running the election.
  • If ten members of your electorate do not come forward to request an election within the specified period then your council is free to fill any vacancy by cooption but you must advertise your vacancy first – see above.
  • If a casual vacancy occurs within six months of the date of retirement as a councillor – notice still has to be given, but there is no opportunity for an election to be requested and your council may coopt but is not required to do so. If you choose not to fill the vacancy it will remain vacant until the next ordinary elections. It is important to note that notice of a casual vacancy still has to be given during this period.

For further advice on the election process you will need to contact either CDALC on 07708 327943 (cdalc@durham.gov.uk) or DCC Electoral Services section on 03000 261212 (electoralservices@durham.gov.uk)