All Parish, Town and Community Councils across West and North Northamptonshire, as well as Unitary Authorities North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire will have elections on Thursday 1 May 2025 whether they be contested or uncontested.
We have developed this webpage to give useful information in what do to in the run up to elections, what happens during elections and what to do after.
We are also offering training to help prepare councils for elections:
How councils can more effectively engage with young people
Recruiting and retaining a more diverse pool of councillors
Planning for Elections
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Please find below a list of questions and answers relating to the local elections in May 2025, when every seat on every parish and town council in North and West Northamptonshire, and every seat on North and West Northamptonshire Council (NNC and WNC), is up for election.
North Northamptonshire - Local Elections Q&A
Councils have a role to play to promote elections to encourage candidacy and encourage the community to vote. Below are some useful materials that can be tailored to your council to promote elections and candidacy.
The framework sets out the support your council will give them on their learning journey through a clear and structured framework of training.
A training needs analysis (TNA) is a valuable process for parish councillors. Its primary purpose is to identify areas where councillors may need additional training or development to perform their roles effectively. By assessing current skills, knowledge, and competencies, a TNA helps to pinpoint specific training requirements. This ensures that councillors are well-equipped to meet the demands of their positions and contribute effectively to the council's goals and objectives.
Additionally, a TNA can help in ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently and that councillors receive the training they need to address any gaps in their knowledge or skills. This ultimately leads to better decision-making, improved governance, and enhanced service delivery to the community.
Complete the Training Needs Analysis for Councillors to identify their gaps in skills and knowledge and where we can help plug those gaps.
Anyone interested in standing for election must submit a nomination paper during the defined nomination period, which immediately precedes the election. Candidates aiming to become a Councillor for a town or parish need to complete the relevant nomination pack (see below).
The timeframe and deadline for submitting nominations will be announced in the Notice of Election. Prospective candidates should carefully note the submission deadlines and the location of the accepting office. Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances.
Nomination packs can be either handwritten or typed, but all signatures must be original (wet signatures).
The original nomination papers must be delivered by hand to the relevant office, as specified in the Notice of Election, before the close of nominations. The Returning Officer will not accept emails or photocopies of the final submission.
Nomination papers can be obtained from
The parish clerk
If your council has a contested election, you're going to want to encourage your community to vote.
Let them know the timescales for registering to vote, how and where they can vote and remind them of the requirement for ID at polling stations.
Onboard your new councillors and furnish them with the relevant forms and documents that they need to complete.
All councillors, regardless of whether they have served in the previous term, must complete:
Declaration of Acceptance of Office (at or before the first meeting after the election)
Register of Interests (Within 28 days of taking up office)
Election Expense Claims (even if £0!)
All of which, and more, can be found here.
The Council must hold its annual meeting within 14 days of councillors taking office (4 days after the election) and the first item on the agenda must be election of the Chair.
If you have an uncontested election and have vacancies, the Council has 35 working days to co-opt from the date of the election. The process for a vacancy can be found here. The Council does not need to post a notice of the vacancy.
If they haven't already, get your Councillors to complete the Training Needs Analysis for Councillors to identify their gaps in skills and knowledge and where we can help plug those gaps: Training Needs Analysis
All new councillors should complete the Foundation stage of the Councillor Development Framework as a minimum, details can be found here: Foundation
Councillors wishing to join specific committees should do the relevant training for that committee, for example a councillor wanting to be on the Planning Committee should attend Planning Nuts and Bolts and Responding to Planning Applications as a minimum.
New Chairs or Mayors should look to complete the Leader stage of the Councillor Development Framework, details can be found here: Leader
To set expectations for training we recommend you have a robust Training Policy and Statement of Intent, sample documents can be found here:
Training Policy
Statement of Intent
Whole Council Training
Another training option is to have a whole council development session where all councillors in attendance, including the clerk and any other officers, all hear the same thing at the same time. We can come to you or training can be online at a time and day that suits your council. More details can be found here.
