Thinking of standing as a councillor in the up-and-coming town or borough council elections?

There's an event going on in Macclesfield this month to encourage the public to get their name onto the ballot.

Seven sessions relating to borough council elections and seven separate sessions for town council elections are being held at locations across the Cheshire East during February and March.

This is due to elections being held on Thursday 4 May for all 82 borough council seats and for all contested town councils in Cheshire East, including Sandbach, Alsager and (most relevant to Macc Nub readers) Bollington.

A polling station during the 2021 Police Commissioner Elections. (Image - Alexander Greensmith / Macclesfield Nub News)

For the first time, photo ID will be needed to cast your vote in person. You do not need photo ID to vote by post.

Nominations for the elections close at 4pm on April 4th – meaning all paperwork and other documentation must be submitted and approved by that date. 

Two of the public sessions where residents can ask questions about becoming a councillor are in Macclesfield.

But if you miss those, you can also head to one of the other sessions in the other Cheshire East towns, even if you are not standing in that ward.

Macclesfield Town Hall will host two of the seven 'become a councillor' events, before the public goes to the polls. (Image - Alexander Greensmith / Macclesfield Nub News)

Anyone seeking to stand as a candidate in the May elections is urged to attend one of the following briefing sessions:

• Monday 20 February – Capesthorne Room, Macclesfield Town Hall SK10 1EA;
• Sunday 26 February – Committee Suites, Westfields, Sandbach CW11 1HZ;
• Wednesday 1 March – Committee Suites, Westfields, Sandbach 
• Thursday 2 March – Grand Hall, Congleton Town Hall CW12 1BN;
• Monday 6 March – Capesthorne Room, Macclesfield Town Hall SK10 1EA;
• Wednesday 8 March – Holmes Chapel Community Centre, Station Road CW4 8AA; 
• Thursday 9 March – Council Chamber, Crewe Municipal Buildings CW1 2BJ.

All briefing sessions start at 5.30pm for borough candidates and at 7pm for town candidates.

Lorraine O'Donnell.

Cheshire East Returning Officer Lorraine O'Donnell, who is chief executive of Cheshire East Council, said: "I would urge all potential candidates to attend one of these briefing sessions as there will be important information we need to give relating to these elections, the process for nominations, protocols and legal rules.

"Nomination packs and other relevant paperwork will also be available for collection at the briefings.

"It is important that all paperwork for candidates is completed correctly, prior to the deadline for nominations, to avoid any difficulties that could prevent a candidate from standing. 

"The council's friendly and efficient electoral services' staff will be able to offer advice to candidates on the paperwork that they need to complete."

The briefings will include important information including:

• The role of borough, town and parish councillors and the protocols they will need to follow once elected; 
• Key changes to election law around voter ID requirements;
• Timetables of key election events and deadlines;
• Nomination arrangements, timings and how to complete nominations;
• Details of the timing of delivery of polling cards;
• Details for postal votes and proxy votes;
• Polling day arrangements;
• Ballot verification and count details;
• Candidate expenses guidance; and 
• Campaign 'Dos and Don'ts'.

Due to limited space, it is important that potential candidates contact Cheshire East Council's elections team to reserve their place at the upcoming events as soon as possible. They should phone 01270 685922 or email: [email protected]

This will enable the team to ensure they have the relevant documents available for you to collect at the briefings.

Anyone who wants to have their say in the local elections in May must also be registered to vote. It only takes five minutes to register online on the gov.uk website.  

Anyone registered to vote, who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID required by the new government legislation, can apply for free ID online via the gov.uk website before 25 April, or by completing a paper form. 

Cheshire East Council's Westfields HQ in Sandbach. (Image - Cheshire East Council)

See Also: No by-elections despite multiple vacant Macclesfield councillor seats

Advertise your business in Macclesfield for FREE on our Local List.

Macclesfield: Have you signed up for our FREE Friday weekly newsletter? It contains each week's top five Macclesfield news stories, and one EXCLUSIVE article?

Simply enter your email address on this link.

Free from pop-up ads, or unwanted surveys, Macclesfield Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.