As you will remember, after the first Parish Council vacancy was advertised, a list of twenty-one signatures in support of an election rather than a co-opted Councillor was delivered to the Isle of Wight Council (IWC). That put the wheels in motion with the Returning Officer's office. Within a day or so, another two Parish Councillors resigned. The same people (and more) who had wanted an election for the first vacancy wanted an election for the second two vacancies. During my discussion with the Deputy Returning Officer, we agreed that unless the law specifically disallowed the two to be held at the same time, they should be held together to save everyone's time not to mention the cost.
Today (Monday 11th August) I went down to the Council Offices and handed over a list of thirty-two names to Mr Clive Joynes, Deputy Returning Officer, asking for the second two vacancies to be subject to election, not co-option. These have been accepted and I am pleased to report that Mr Joynes is able to run the two polls at the same time. He still has to make final agreement with those who run the hall but even so, there are alternatives available so the following timescales, while NOT official, are most likely to be the final dates:
DRAFT DATES FOR SHALFLEET PARISH COUNCIL ELECTION 2014 - TO BE CONFIRMED
Notice of Election: Wed 3rd September
Last day for delivery of nomination papers: 4.00 pm Friday 12th September
Statement of persons nominated: 4.00 pm Monday 15th September
Last day for withdrawal of candidature: 4.00 pm Friday 12th September* (*new rules applied)
Last day for new applications for postal votes: 5.00 pm Wednesday 24th September
Notice of poll: Wednesday 1st October
Polling Day: 7.00 am to 10.00 pm Thursday 9th October
Counting starts immediately and result declared that evening
Several people have asked me how many votes each elector has. There are three vacancies so each elector has three votes. The elector may vote for up to three candidates. If there are only three candidates then they would be duly elected without a poll (obviously, since a poll would be a waste of time). If there are fewer candidates standing than vacancies then the Parish Council may co-opt to fill the outstanding vacancies after the election.
As I have already stated, I shall be standing. If you are on the electoral register of Shalfleet Parish you are entitled to stand -- there is NO time limit for residency in the Parish. The information I have published here is given in good faith and is only an overview. Please see the IWC advertised material - not available yet, probably on 3rd September. The definitive source of information relating to all electoral matters is on http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/ It's reasonably straightforward as websites go.
This is an important election particularly due to the Localism Act 2011 which is likely to have profound implications on Parish Councils. Some of the new freedoms could be a double-edged sword and it is important that electors keep abreast of what's happening and choose their Councillors carefully. The pendulum is still swinging towards greater devolution of government making the Parish Council potentially more important than hitherto. Please don't make the mistake of thinking it's only about dog-poo and bus shelters - it is changing.
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Now, Andrew Turner's visit: May I remind you that our MP, Mr Andrew Turner, is doing a tour of surgeries around the Island this week. In our area, the most local is to be at Newbridge Community Centre this Thursday 14th August 2014 arriving at 0945. Please see below for Andrew's schedule for the whole day, below...if you have missed him at Newbridge you can catch him at the next one.
I'll be sure to go along to say hello to Andrew at Newbridge so maybe I will see some of you there.
The Island's MP Summer Surgery 2014 - Starting From Newbridge and Finishing at Newport _ Andrew Turner by david5174
Below is the whole list of Andrew's visits for the week.
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