Councillors are an important part of life in Craven, working closely with communities to improve the lives of the district's residents.

If you're concerned about the future of local services and think you could make a difference, you could consider becoming a councillor. 

The next Craven District Council elections will be in May 2019 when seats in the following wards will be up for election: Bentham; Embsay-with-Eastby; Gargrave and Malhamdale; Glusburn; Skipton East; Skipton North; Skipton South; Skipton West; Sutton-in-Craven; West Craven

There will also be parish council elections in May 2019 in Embsay-with-Eastby; Skipton Town Council; Sutton-in-Craven; Carleton-in-Craven; Thornton-in-Craven

The term of office for the district council is four years. At the end of this time you can retire or stand for re-election. You can choose to retire at any time.

Legal requirements to be a Councillor

To stand for election, on the day of nomination, you must be:

• 18 or over,
• and a UK, EU or Commonwealth Citizen,
• and
  • either be registered to vote on the current register with the local council
  • or have either worked or lived in the council's area for one year
  • been an owner or tenant of any land or premises in the council's area for one year.
  •  For parish / town councils, there is another criteria you can qualify under, which is to have lived in the parish or within 4.8 kilometres of it for the last 12 months.

You cannot stand if:

• you work for your local council,
• or you hold a politically restricted post for another authority,
• or you are subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or interim order,
• or you have served a prison sentence (including suspended sentences) of three months or more within five years prior to the election,
• or you have been disqualified under any legislation relating to corrupt or illegal practices.

You do not need any formal qualifications to become a councillor.

Standing as a member of a political party or as an Independent councillor

If you are thinking of standing as a candidate for a particular Political Party, then you will need to be a Member of that Party's local organisation. The Parties currently represented on the council and their local contact details (in alphabetical order by party) are:

Conservative Leader: Councillor Richard Foster

Green: Councillor Andy Brown

Independent Group Leader: Councillor Andy Solloway

Labour Leader: Councillor Peter Madeley

Liberal Democrat: Councillor Eric Jaquin

UKIP: Councillor Roger Baxandall

What do I do if I decide to stand?

Once you have decided to stand for election as a councillor you will need to be proposed and then seconded by another and also have eight further people as assenters to your nomination, a total of ten people to support you (these must all be registered local electors).

Full details of the electoral process including the nomination procedure is available by contacting the Electoral services department on 01756 700600. 

The District nomination packs and those for Parish Council are available around seven weeks before the election date from the above office.  You can also get parish nomination packs from the local Parish Clerk.

To find out more about becoming a councillor go to https://beacouncillor.co.uk/