English district councils have scheduled elections on 4th May 2023. There are no scheduled elections in Scotland, Wales, London or English County Councils. These areas may still have by elections scheduled for 4th May. The process for standing for those by elections will be exactly the same as for the scheduled elections.

The aim of this page is to show you how to stand as an Independent candidate in those scheduled elections. At Vote Freedom we are there to support and guide you through the process but please refer to the information on this page first.

Are there elections in my area ?

We have compiled a list of councils with elections on 4th May 2023 here.

If you are not sure which council area or ward you live or work in then use the OS Election Map. Click on Boundary on the left, tick relevant council type e.g Metroplitan District Council and then Metroplitan District wards and highlight show names. Then use your address to zoom in on your locality and the relevant ward boundaries should be shown.

The nomination form can be found here

Can I stand for election?

Essentially you can stand in any ward in the council are in which you are

• Primarily resident and on the Electoral Roll
• Own property
• Your primary employment is located.

Nomination timetable.

1. Notices of Election will be published on 24th March
2. First day for submitting nomination papers is 25th March
3. Last day for submitting nomination papers is 4th April

You will probably need to book an appointment with election services to submit your forms. Even if this is not mandatory it is worth doing as they will check your forms for you prior to submission. You need to be familiar with and regularly checking the election services page for your local council. A couple of examples of these pages are linked below but each council has a slightly different format.

South Tyneside

Sefton

Prior to nominations opening email the Election Services team and ask for nomination packs and Electoral Registers for the ward you plan to stand in.