Every four years, here in this district, we have a chance to go to the polls to elect all seven of our Draycott-in-the-Moors district ‘civil’ councillors (there are seven seats in total). The last elections took place in May 2019; the next one will be this May (2023).
There will be seven empty seats to be filled on Draycott Council at these elections; some current councillors have indicated they will not stand again.
There was a Potential-Candidates Briefing Session held on Feb 28th in Leek. If you missed that, click on the link below for a copy of the presentation, which is a great summary of all a candidate needs to know.
Briefing for Potential Candidates (and Agents) wishing to stand in elections within the Staffordshire Moorlands Region 2023
If you decide to you want to stand as one of our village councillors, you must get your 2023 nomination paper in by 4pm on April 4th (ie on the 19th working day before the poll).
Click here to access the electoral nomination forms. They can look quite daunting at first, what with all the small print coming with them, but, unless yours is an unusual case, most of the small print won’t apply. So just fill in the forms you need to. If you do make a genuine mistake, no harm is done.
You can submit your nomination paper once the election is announced (on March 22nd).
Once properly filled in, your paper must be taken, in person, either by you OR a friend, to the Staffordshire Moorlands offices in Leek (Moorlands House Stockwell St, Leek, ST13 6HQ) by 4pm on April 4th , and must be handed over in person to a member of the elections team there. (Simply leaving it at the reception desk won’t work – and may invalidate the paper). The elections team at Leek are available 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday. You can contact them on 01538 395500 to check opening hours.
If you do find you have a question with the forms, you can email the elections team or phone them on 01538 395500, or, alternatively, email Draycott Council’s clerk. Current Draycott councillors may be happy to help too – cllr Roger Holdcroft served for a number of years as chairman and has helped answer some questions before.
The government is urging more people to come forward, to take part in our civic life, and become such village-community/civil-parish councillors. The current members on Draycott say they would welcome new interest.
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has an excellent introduction to becoming a parish councillor – see the NALC’s Make A Change Campaign.
Draycott Council
Draycott in the Moors Council is formally known as a ‘parish council’ although it is actually an official & statutory local government body, with statutory powers, and is nothing to do with the Church. Draycott Council is paid for by our council tax at over £9,000 a year.
The council’s area covers all Draycott, Cresswell almost as far as Hilderstone, Totmonslow, Newton and Draycott Cross.
To see the area in detail, have a look at the official map to see Draycott Council’s boundaries (check the left-hand column of the this page, tick ‘Boundaries’, then tick ‘Parish Boundaries’ to see the borders).
Qualifying to stand for election for Draycott Council
There is no financial charge for standing at an election to a parish council… It’s free!
Qualifications…
1/ You must be 18 years or older.
2/ The council area includes Draycott, Draycott Cross, Cresswell, Totmonslow, Draycott Waste and Newton. So, you should be someone who:
…is on the electoral register in one of these areas …;
OR lives in (or within three miles of) the council boundary…;
OR has their main place of employment (even if it is voluntary-work) in one of these areas…;
OR owns land or property in one or more of these areas….
If you fulfil at least one of these qualifications, then you are entitled to stand for election to Draycott-in-the-Moors Parish Council.
(For a detailed break-down, and for the few exceptions to this rule, see Electoral Guide).
Curiously, this means that you don’t necessarily have to live in the area.
For example, you would still be eligible if you are….: someone who lives in Stoke but works in Cresswell; someone who lives in Stafford but who owns land in Totmonslow; someone who lives in Uttoxeter but who carries out a lot of regular voluntary work in Draycott; and even someone who lives just over the parish border (in, say, Blythe Bridge, Cheadle, Fulford or Tean).
Surprising – but true!
For more details, see the Electoral Commission page
No experience needed…
*You need no academic qualifications or particular experience to stand for or sit on a parish council.
*You do not have to be a member of a political party, or indeed any grouping at all…
*You do not even have to be British (Commonwealth and some EU passport-holders are also eligible)
Duties?
*The duties of a councillor are not that difficult or even compulsory: in fact, you make of it what you want to. The simple minimum is that you should try to attend as many monthly (evening) meetings of the council as you can.
*You can withdraw off the council whenever you wish.
*You do not receive any money to be on a parish council (though you may get occasional, minor expenses).
Fresh blood needed
Most of the current parish councillors on our parish council have only ever had to fight two elections, the 2015 election and the 2019 election. This was because there have not been enough other candidates on the list at previous elections, so they were made councillors automatically (being ‘unopposed’).
Some members have never had to face election – because they were invited to join the council (being ‘co-opted’) when vacancies arose.
In fact, there has only been two all-out elections in Draycott in the last twenty-five years… the 2015 and 2019 ones.
Some sections of our community could do with better representation on Draycott in the Moors Parish Council. Farmers, active business-people, and people in full-time employment are under-represented on the council, as are parents whose children are still in education, and people under 40.
As in so many other walks of life, women too are under-represented on this council.
Interested?
Remember: nomination papers must be hand-delivered (by you or a friend) to the main SMDC Offices in Leek on or before April 4th. They cannot be submitted by post, fax, or e-mail (or other electronic means).
If you have questions, please use the comments box at the bottom of this page to ask them.
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Previous Draycott elections
Click for: 2023 Election Results (uncontested) / 2019 Election Results / 2015 Election Results / 2013 (by-election only) / 2011 Election Results (uncontested) / 2007 Election (uncontested) / 2003 Election (uncontested).
(When the election is called ‘uncontested’, it means no voting took place, as there were not enough candidates for an election)
All seven sitting councillors must stand down at every election cycle; though, of course, they may decide to seek re-election.
If only seven (or fewer) people stand, then those are automatically selected, and no voting has to be carried out.
If fewer than seven people stand, then the elected members can also look around for suitable persons and ask (‘co-opt’) them to volunteer to be a fellow councillor with them to make up the numbers.
(By-elections in parish councils work differently to the rest of government and are quite a different case. They are not automatic. If a vacancy comes up, a by-election only will occur if it is ‘called‘ by at least ten electors of the district).
Draycott in the Moors News & Comment Website 