Local elections 2023

The last election of town and parish councillors was in 2019. 

All 22 district wards and 53 parish councils held elections for new members.

Results for district and parish elections were declared on Friday 5 May 2023.
 

Candidate post election declaration form and expenses return

All district candidates should note that if you are successfully elected there is an induction timetable (PDF) [817KB] that you should acquaint yourself with. All elected district councillors will be handed a pack at the count. If you are elected you will need to sign up and abide by the code of local government conduct (PDF) [434KB] as adopted by Uttlesford District Council and local parish/town councils.

After the election all candidates whether they were elected at the polling station or unopposed or not successfully elected, must complete and return a Declaration form along with an expenses return, whether you incurred any cost or not.  This is a legal requirement. District candidates are entitled to appoint a separate Election Agent and the agent must also complete a Declaration form.

The proper officer for electoral purposes takes receipt of these returns and holds them on deposit for 2 years from the date of the poll. Any queries on their completion should be directed to the Electoral Commission who publish a Spending and Donations Guide.

Dates for submission are set out in the timetable.

Declaration by Candidate (PDF) [18KB]  

Declaration by Election Agent - District only (PDF) [18KB]

Elections Expenses return (gi.ui.mediatype.spreadsheets) [84KB]

There is a legal limit that you can spend on your campaign and this form indicates the maximum sums.

If you are to print any leaflets etc you should refer to the Electoral Commission guidance on Imprints as this is most important.  

The maximum expenses limit in the Regulatory Period from the publication of the Notice of Election on 22 March: £806 fixed sum plus 7p per registered local government elector.

Electorate totals, number of properties and absent voter totals as at 1 March for Parish (PDF) [802KB]  and by District Ward (PDF) [443KB] . 

Electorate and properties for Uttlesford District showing all electoral areas (PDF) [82KB] .  

Unless otherwise prohibited such as with nomination papers, all forms can be emailed to candidateinfo@uttlesford.gov.uk

Results

• Uncontested election results
  • Notice of uncontested election - parish councillors (PDF) [358KB]
• Contested election results
  • Election of district councillors on Thursday 4 May 2023
    Declaration of result of poll - District Councillors (PDF) [4MB]
    
     
  • Election of town and parish councillors on Thursday 4 May 2023
    Declaration of result of poll - Parish Councillors (PDF) [1MB]

The district and parish council elections' verification and counts took place on Friday 5 May 2023 at the Lord Butler Leisure Centre Saffron Walden.  

Voter ID at polling stations

In the recent local elections voters needed to show photo ID to vote at polling stations.

The data here shows the number of people eligible to vote at a polling station on 4 May 2023, the number of people that were not issued with a ballot paper because they did not meet the new voter ID requirements and the number of those people that returned with acceptable ID and were able to vote.

Voter ID figures for Uttlesford

Total number of electors who were eligible to vote in person at our 83 polling stations: 58,519

The number of polling station electors who applied for, but were not issued with, a ballot paper: 58

The number of polling station electors who were not issued with a ballot paper and who later returned with accepted ID and were issued with a ballot paper: 39

Candidate information

Full guidance on how to stand for the elections is on the Electoral Commission's website. The guidance covers eligibility; how to stand; permitted expenditure; the campaign; your rights and what happens after the declaration of the result.

• Become a councillor
• District candidates
• Parish candidates

If you are thinking of becoming a parish councillor and want to serve your local community, The National Association of Local Council has general advice and information.

We ran two guidance sessions for candidates and agents to explain how the election will be run for the parishes and district council, you can still  download the presentation slides (PDF) [426KB] . 

Pre election candidate information

View the full election timetable (PDF) [114KB] for all legal deadlines and events.

Downloaded nomination papers once completed must be hand delivered to the Returning Officer's staff at the Council Offices, London Road, Saffron Walden.

Please tell us when you would like to come in by emailing us at candidateinfo@uttlesford.gov.uk or calling 01799 510434.

The deadline for ALL nominations to be hand delivered is 4pm on Tuesday 4 April. 

You are advised to deliver you nomination papers before the last day in case of any queries or issues.  

Please refer to the Electoral Commission guidance on standing for election - see above and the overview for District and Parish and whether as an independent or for a Party.

District Nomination Papers (Word doc) [94KB]

Parish Nomination Papers (Word doc) [222KB]

To assist you completing the nomination paper, an annotated copy of both papers for "reference purposes only" can be seen below:

District Annotated Nomination Paper (PDF) [832KB]  

Parish Annotated Nomination Paper (PDF) [466KB]

To assist your campaign you can request a copy of the full register of electors for the electoral area e.g. Ward or Parish for which you are standing. Please read and abide by the data protection guidance on use of the register as it is for electoral purposes only. You can also request a list of the current postal/proxy voters. These forms can be emailed.

Request for the register of electors (Word doc) [73KB]

Request for the list of absent voters (Word doc) [74KB]

As a candidate you are entitled to appoint various agents to help in your campaign.

The Electoral Commission also publish a  Code of Conduct for campaigners (PDF) [289KB] that all candidates and their agents should refer to.

If you are to have any supporters (PDF) [130KB]  of your campaign who may visit polling stations on election day you should refer to this guide.

The Electoral Commission also publish guidance on Tellers.

These should be printed, completed and delivered to the Returning Officer in accordance with the timetable. They can be emailed.

Postal voting agent (Word doc) [72KB]

Polling Agent (Word doc) [75KB]

Count Agent (Word doc) [77KB]

At all electoral events, all attendees must abide by the secrecy requirements (PDF) [474KB] .

Post election candidate information

All district candidates should note that if you are successfully elected there is an induction timetable (PDF) [817KB] that you should acquaint yourself with. All elected district councillors will be handed a pack at the count. If you are elected you will need to sign up and abide by the code of local government conduct (PDF) [434KB] as adopted by Uttlesford District Council and local parish/town councils

After the election all candidates whether they were elected at the polling station or unopposed or not successfully elected, must complete and return a Declaration form along with an expenses return, whether you incurred any cost or not.  This is a legal requirement. District candidates are entitled to appoint a separate Election Agent and the agent must also complete a Declaration form.

The proper officer for electoral purposes takes receipt of these returns and holds them on deposit for 2 years from the date of the poll. Any queries on their completion should be directed to the Electoral Commission who publish a Spending and Donations Guide.

Dates for submission are set out in the timetable.

Declaration by Candidate (PDF) [18KB]  

Declaration by Election Agent - District only (PDF) [18KB]

Elections Expenses return (gi.ui.mediatype.spreadsheets) [84KB]

There is a legal limit that you can spend on your campaign and this form indicates the maximum sums.

If you are to print any leaflets etc you should refer to the Electoral Commission guidance on Imprints as this is most important.  

The maximum expenses limit in the Regulatory Period from the publication of the Notice of Election on 22 March: £806 fixed sum plus 7p per registered local government elector.

Electorate totals, number of properties and absent voter totals as at 1 March for Parish (PDF) [802KB]  and by District Ward (PDF) [443KB] . 

Electorate and properties for Uttlesford District showing all electoral areas (PDF) [82KB] .  

Unless otherwise prohibited such as with nomination papers, all forms can be emailed to candidateinfo@uttlesford.gov.uk  

Postal vote opening sessions

All local candidates and district election agents are entitled to attend the postal vote opening sessions.  They are also entitled to appoint up to 2 postal vote agents to observe. At least 48 hours' notice must be given to the Returning Officer if anyone wishes to attend.  The opening sessions will take place in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Saffron Walden.

Sessions - all from 9.30am

Friday 21 April
Monday 24 April
Wednesday 26 April
Friday 28 April
Tuesday 2 May
Wednesday 3 May
Thursday 4 May - polling day and a final opening session will take place at the same venue from 8.30pm on polling day  

A form will appear here to appoint postal voting agents 

Election timetable

Vote in person - poll cards

Poll cards will be issued to all registered electors as soon as possible after the Notices of Election have been published at the end of March.

If you have not received a card by 7 April it may mean you are not registered. If you have moved in early 2023 you need to have ensured you have re-registered at your new address. Please contact electoral services if you have not received a poll card.

Poll cards are changing!

From May 2023, in order to list the suitable form of photo ID acceptable at a polling station, poll cards will be A4 size and delivered in an envelope.

Acceptable voter ID will include a passport, driving licence and a national concessionary bus pass. Certain other ID will also be acceptable and will be listed on the back of the card. The ID does not have to be valid provided that the photograph is still a suitable likeness. If you do not have any of the ID listed, you can apply for a apply for a Voter Authority Certificate that will be posted direct to your registered address. 

The poll card will list the electoral areas - ward and parish council, though not all areas will have both elections as many parishes are likely to be uncontested. At the polling station and with postal votes, electors will be presented with one or two ballot papers - different colours.  It will say how many votes you have on each ballot paper.

Vote by post

Portal votes will be issued as soon as possible after the close of nominations. These are sent by first class post. However if you applied near the deadline these will be posted by the Friday before polling week.

If you complete your postal vote pack but don't send it in time, you can drop it off before 10pm on election day at:

• your local polling station
• the Council Offices, London Road, Saffron Walden CB11 4ER

Postal votes

Vote by proxy

If you have appointed a proxy to vote on your behalf at your allocated polling station, both you and your proxy will be sent a card.  

Proxy voting

Find who is standing and where to vote

To help you find out about the elections in your area we've worked with an organisation called Democracy Club to build an online polling station and candidate search tool.

This tool does not include details of town and parish council elections.

Polling stations

Your poll card will tell you which polling station you need to go to.

At the polling station and with postal votes, electors will be presented with one or two ballot papers - different colours.  It will say how many votes you have on each ballot paper.

The Notice of poll - election of district councillors on Thursday 4 May 2023 (PDF) [465KB] tells you where to find the polling stations for each ward.

The Notice of poll - election of parish councillors on Thursday 4 May 2023 (PDF) [241KB] tells you where to find the polling stations for each parish election.

We also have information on access for voters with disabilities.

Full list of Uttlesford polling stations

Support for voters with disabilities

The Electoral Commission has issued 2 guides to support voters:

Voter ID: supporting blind and partially sighted people to vote in the 2023 English local elections (PDF) [184KB]

Voter ID: easy read guide for people with learning disabilities (PDF) [1MB] . This guide tells you everything you need to know about photo ID for the local elections.

Pre-election period

We have put together some guidance on conducting council business, publicity and events during the pre-election period for the polls being held in May 2023. The pre-election period for these local elections will start from Wednesday 22 March 2023.