People are being encouraged to ‘make a difference’ and stand for election in the town and parish councils in May 2015.
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has launched a campaign to increase the number of contested elections and inspire a new ‘generation of neighbourhood leaders’.
Cllr Ken Browse, chairman of NALC, said: ‘Whatever needs tackling or improving locally, becoming a parish or town councillor gives people the opportunity to change things.
‘As one of 80,000 parish and town councillors myself, I’m lucky to be able to make such a huge difference to the quality of life for people in my area. But the great work councillors do often isn’t reported by the media, so it’s no surprise people aren’t queuing up to get involved.
‘This needs to change and next year’s parish elections are a golden opportunity to encourage more people, especially younger people, to become councillors.’
NALC has set up an online Elections Hub for its member councils to access information and resources to run their own election campaigns.
Read our guide on what a local government councillor does and how to become a local councillor.
