Parish council elections are held every four years in County Durham. The next parish council elections will be held on 4 May 2021 at the same time as Durham County Council Elections.
Election Organisation
Elections are organised by the Returning Officer for Durham County Council. To stand for election candidates must be nominated using a separate nomination paper, which is available from the Returning Officer. This paper must be signed by you – the candidate – and also by two subscribers who are electors of the relevant parish or ward. Papers must be submitted to the Returning Officer. Submission by hand is encouraged to ensure they are signed for. It is the candidates responsibility to ensure their papers are received in time.
All of the ‘seats’ on parish councils will become vacant in May 2021. If there are more candidates than seats available, the election will proceed to a poll. If not, the Returning Officer will declare the candidates as duly elected, unopposed. Local councillors take up their positions four days after the elections, usually the Monday following the elections.
If there are insufficient candidates to fill all council member seats then following the election, the council (if quorate) can move to cooption to fill any remaining vacancies and this must be done within 35 days following the election date. After this time principal authorities can take the appropriate action to fill any vacancies. This may include running another election process.
The Electoral Commission website provides all the details a candidate needs to know.
Estimated Election Timetable
The 2021 election timetable will be entered into the website closer to the date of elections.