Election Information

The Next Parish Council election will be on 4 May 2023. There will be seven (up from 6 at the 2019 election) available places on the Parish Council. The process is as follows:

• All current councillors resign.
• Applications for councillors (including those from resigning councillors who wish to be candidates at the following election) are submitted to the Vale.
• If there are more candidates than positions on the council an election is held and the seven receiving the highest number of votes are elected.
• In the event that there are the same number or fewer candidates than positions, those candidates are appointed without an election being held.
• Any remaining vacancies can be filled by volunteers who can be ‘co-opted’ by the council subject to them being agreed by existing councillors.

If you would like to become a councillor, please keep an eye open for details of dates and when and where to submit your registration details. If you would like to know more about being a councillor, please feel free to discuss this with any of the current councillors or the Clerk .

The government has introduced a requirement for voters to show a photo ID when voting at a polling station in local elections taking place in England. This will apply to residents of South Oxfordshire and Vale when they cast their ballots on 4 May 2023.

Acceptable forms of photo ID include a driver’s licence, passport, some kinds of bus pass, and others. All of these IDs must be originals, not copies, but some expired documents will be accepted.

People who have no photo ID can contact South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC), which will enable them to go ahead and vote. The deadline for applying for a VAC is 5 pm on 25 April. You can also apply for a VAC online at https://www.gov.uk, giving your name and address, date of birth and National Insurance number, and submitting a photo (similar specification to passport photos). 

You can also vote by post, in which case no photo ID is needed. If you fill in a postal vote application form, this must arrive at SODC by 5 pm on 18 April. Your ballot paper must reach its destination by 10 pm on 4 May.

More information is available from https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk or from Citizens Advice Adviceline on 0808 278 7907.

Below are links to a nomination pack for those who wish to stand in May. Also lnked is a sample completed form which explains what information needs to go into each box.

You may not know your local elector number, but don’t worry as the Parish Clerk (Julia Evans) will be provided with this information nearer the time, and the elections team will have access to it at the Vale.

There is an online briefing session on 2^nd March at 5.30pm. If anyone wants to attend please email elections@southandvale.go.uk to register your interest.

Forms must be submitted in person at Abbey House Abbingdon between 10am and 4pm from 20^th March to 4^th April inclusive.

Julia will take forms in on your behalf and plans to go to the Vale on Friday 24^th March and Monday 3^rd April. If you’d like her to take your signed paper form, please ensure that she has it by Thursday 23^rd March or Sunday 2^nd April. You can do this by post to her home address (Mrs Julia Evans, The Greenway, Moorcroft, West Hendred, Wantage, OX12 8RG)

or by leaving it in an envelope, anonymously, at the Parish Chairman's house (10 Craven Common) by 10am on 23 March or 3 April marked 'for Parish Clerk'.

The briefing material for candidates (below) looks a rather bureaucratic document but there is a large number of rules and restrictions around formal elections. It is worth a skim at least if you are thinking of putting yourself forward as you wouldn't want to become disqualified due to an administrative mistake.

The Parish Council election in May 2019 was uncontested. This means that six people stood for the six available places on the Parish Council. The notice below confirms the members duly elected.

Parish Council elections are held every 4 years. The next district and parish elections will be held in 2023.