Stone residents will need to show a valid form of photo identification as new legislation comes into force for the Stone Town Council and Stafford Borough Council elections this May.
The borough and town council elections will take place on Thursday, the 4th of May, the same day that the new Voter ID legislation comes into effect.
The Stone Town Council and Borough Council elections run on a four-year cycle, and these give voters the opportunity to select representatives who they feel will best represent their wishes at a more local level.
Stone Town Council
Stone Town Council is made up of 18 seats, with the Stone Independents currently holding the majority.
In the 2019 elections, Stone Independents swept the board, taking all 18 seats, including those previously held by Conservative Party councillors. In early 2021, a by-election was called following the resignation of Stone Independent Councillor Tom Adamson. In the by-election, Conservative candidate Steve Walley was successful in taking the Stonefield and Christchurch seat.
Current Make-Up:
- Stone Independents – 17 seats
- Conservative Party – 1 seat
At a town council level, the town is split into four areas, which are referred to as wards:
- Stonefield & Christchurch (5 seats)
- St. Michaels (5 seats)
- Walton North (3 seats)
- Walton South (5 seats)
Stafford Borough Council
Stafford Borough Council is made up of 40 seats, 5 for Stone, with the Conservative Party currently holding the majority.
- Conservative Party – 20
- Labour Party – 10
- Borough Independents – 8
- Independent – 1
- Green Party – 1
From a Borough Council perspective, Stone is split into just two wards.
- St. Michaels & Stonefield (3 Seats)
- Walton (2 Seats)
How do you register to vote?
If you’re already on the electoral register, then you don’t need to do anything to register for these elections.
For anyone else, there’s a handy guide on the Stafford Borough Council website -> How to register to vote
Photo ID Requirements
New Government rules mean that Stone residents wanting to vote will need to show photographic identification at polling stations.
The new national voter identification requirement comes into place for the May elections across the borough.
It will mean anyone turning up to vote at a polling station will need to show identification – with a list of accepted forms of ID listed on the Electoral Commission website. They include a UK passport, Driving Licence, or disabled blue badge, and you can find the full list from Voter ID | Electoral Commission
If you don’t have any of the accepted identification, you can apply for a free ‘Voter Authority Certificate’ at www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-
The Candidates
At this stage, there are no candidates declared; we will evolve our coverage of the elections as we move towards candidate nominations.
