Following the resignation, in January, of Stonefield & Christchurch Stone Town Council member Tom Adamson there is now a vacancy on the town council.
The parish of Stone is made up of 4 wards (areas), with 18 local councillors in total. Following the May 2019 elections, the town council is made up entirely of Stone Independent councillors.
Tom Adamson was elected in the May 2019 elections, however, due to work and personal commitments that he didn’t have at the time of the election Tom has taken the decision to stand down from Stone Town Council.
The Stonefield and Christchurch Ward has 5 local town councillors, the remaining councillors being:
- VACANT
- Philip Leason
- Tom Kelt
- Rob Kenney
- Ian Fordham
When a councillor resigns, this creates a “casual vacancy”, following which a procedure is put in place to appoint a successor. Covid restrictions will have an impact here, however, and we’ll explain what happens next, there is guidance provided from the electoral authority, in this case, Stafford Borough Council that the town clerk must follow.
Publish Public Notice
The Stafford Borough Council Returning Officer sent a public notice to the town clerk about the vacancy which was placed on the town councils notice boards in the town. The councillors position was also updated to VACANT on the town council website – https://www.stonetowncouncil.gov.uk/ourcouncillors/
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STAFFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL
NOTICE OF VACANCY IN OFFICE OF COUNCILLOR
Stonefield & Christchurch Ward of Stone Town Council
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT
A Vacancy has arisen in the Office of Councillor for the Parish Council.
If you are a Local Government Elector for the above area you may request that an election is held to fill the vacancy. This must be put in writing and delivered addressed to Tim Clegg the Returning Officer c/o The Elections Office Stafford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ Tel: 01785 619424) by no later than Monday, 1st February 2021.
If ten local government electors make this request an election will not take place until the ordinary day of election of Councillors to be held on Thursday 6 May 2021, by virtue of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and the Local Government and Police and Crime Commissioner(Coronavirus)(Postponement of Elections and Referendums)(England & Wales) Regulations 2020.
However, this date may be brought forward or deferred by the Government depending upon the circumstances. Any election will be publicised as required by law.
Please ensure that you receive confirmation from us that your request has been received.
If a request for an election is not received by the above deadline then the Parish Council will co-opt a person to fill the vacancy as soon as practicable in accordance with the Local Elections (Parishes & Communities)(England & Wales) Rules 2006.
Clerk to the Parish Council
Dated: Tuesday, 12th January 2021 [/box]
What are the Options?
Electors in the Stonefield & Christchurch Ward have two options in filling the vacant councillor spot:
- Co-option – If you’re eligible to be a councillor, you can contact the Parish Council to let them know you’d like to be considered for the vacancy. Once the notice has expired the council have 60 days to co-opt someone who has put their name forward. This takes place via the usual town council meetings when an item will be added onto the agenda for the co-option. The remaining 17 town council members will vote on the prospective councillors, potentially over a number of rounds, until a candidate has an absolute majority vote from the council members. This co-option only occurs if the call for an election criteria isn’t met – see below.
- Election Called – If, within fourteen days (from date of notice) the Returning Officer receives a written request for an election signed by TEN electors from the Stonefield & Christchurch word then an election will be held to fill the vacancy. The Returning Officer will call an election within 60 working days of the notice expiry; however, these dates can be impacted by Covid lockdown restrictions. The 2020 elections were pushed back to May 2021, and the current May 2021 elections are under review.
Costs
In terms of an election, the Parish Council would be required to fund the running of an election, the Town Clerk has indicated that the cost of this would be around £9,000; co-option is carried out as part of the normal town council meetings so there would be no additional costs for this option.
A typical election involves the following items that need to be budgeted for:
- Returning officer – the fee they receive;
- Clerical support – clerical and administrative resources needed;
- Premises – hiring of polling stations and a count venue;
- Polling staff – fees paid to duty staff at the polling stations;
- Postage – the outgoing and incoming cost of postal votes;
- Ballot papers – the printing costs;
- Polling cards – the printing costs;
- Labour – incidental costs, such as the delivery of ballot papers;
- Transport – incidental costs, such as the delivery of equipment for polling stations;
- Count – fees payable to the staff at the count; and
- Notices and stationery – for statutory forms, other printing, etc.
If the elections go ahead as planned in May 2021 then we would expect to see additional costs to ensure that the election process is carried out in a Covid secure manner. Government guidance on holding elections during a pandemic hasn’t been formulated and released yet so at this stage we don’t know what the impact would be.
Election Process
Should an election be called, people will be able to nominate themselves, and the normal election process will be followed.
The elected candidate will serve the remainder of the original 4-year term, so will be up for re-election in May 2023.
