Parliamentary General Election - Information for Potential Candidates

The Parliamentary General Election takes place on Thursday 12 December. 

Potential candidates for the Stratford-on-Avon constituency will be able to submit nomination papers from 9 November.

Nomination packs, containing all the necessary information candidates need to be aware of including all the forms that need to be submitted as part of the nomination process will be available this Friday 8 November from the Elections Office at Stratford-on-Avon District Council.

To be a candidate for the election you need to be:

• at least 18 years old, and
• either a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or an eligible Commonwealth citizen

You must also not be disqualified from standing (there is a long list of disqualifications, which are detailed in the nomination pack).

Nomination forms must have a proposer, seconder and eight other assentors* who live in the constituency and are on the electors' list.

Candidates are also required to pay a deposit of £500, which must accompany the completed nomination form. This will be returned after the election providing the candidate polls at least 5% of the votes cast.

Anyone wishing to stand as a candidate representing a political party must obtain the permission of the party, which itself must be registered on the Electoral Commission's register of political parties.

The following dates are crucial for the nominations process:

• Nomination papers can be submitted from the day after the publication of the Notice of Election on 8 November.
• The deadline for submission is 4pm on Thursday 14 November.
  Candidates are strongly advised not to wait until close to the deadline to submit their nomination papers, as if there are any errors, they can only be corrected before the deadline expires.

A briefing session for potential candidates will be held on Friday 8 November at 5pm in the Council Chamber at the District Council Offices. 

Anyone interested in attending should contact the Elections Office on 01789 260210.

* Assentor - any of the eight voters legally required to endorse the nomination of a candidate in a parliamentary or local election in addition to the nominator and seconder