Chance to become a Burnley councillor

Local elections will be held on May 3rd when voters will choose who represents them on Burnley Borough Council.

An informal information session for anyone interested in standing as a candidate to become a borough councillor, or as an election agent, will be held at 5pm on Wednesday, March 7th.

The briefing will include information on what it means to be a councillor, duties and responsibilities, how to be nominated to stand in the elections and a guide to being a candidate.

Nomination information packs will be given to would-be candidates and agents.

Nominations for the borough elections close at 4pm on Friday, April 6th. You must be 18 years or older and meet some other basic criteria to be able to stand as a candidate.

Alison Stirling, of the town hall elections office, said: “We’re encouraging anyone interested in becoming a councillor to come along to this briefing session and find out more. If you’ve thought about standing as a candidate in the local elections but not been sure how to go about it, this event is for you.”

Burnley borough is represented by 45 local councillors.

A third of the seats – 15 – will be up for grabs in May.

Labour currently controls Burnley Council with 27 councillors. The Liberal Democrats have six seats, the Conservatives hold four seats, seven independents and one UKIP councillor.