Types of and Timings of Elections

Local Government Elections

Wychavon is divided into 32 Wards  (11.64 KB), which are represented by 45 Councillors on Wychavon District Council. Elections for District Councillors take place every four years, on the first Thursday in May. The last District Council elections took place on 3rd May 2007, the next Normal District Council elections are due to take place in May 2011.

Also within Wychavon there are 110 Parish wards  (11.64 KB). Each Parish Council  (3.20 MB) has between 5 and 24 Councillors. Elections for Parish Councillors take place at the same time as the District Council elections.

For representation on Worcestershire County Council, the Wychavon area is split into 12 divisions. These divisions are each represented by 1 County Councillor. County Council elections also take place every four years, on the first Thursday in May. The last County Council elections took place on 5th May 2005 and next will be held on May 2009.

If a Local Councillor resigns or dies the ‘seat’ becomes vacant and a by-election may be called to find a replacement. A by-election can happen at any time provided the vacancy occurs at least six month prior to the date for normal elections. For any current by-elections veiw current elections.

Parliamentary Elections

Parliamentary elections, in which you vote for a Member of Parliament, must take place within five years of the previous parliamentary election, but can be called at any time. The Prime Minister decides the exact date of an election but there must be at least 17 working days between when an election is called and election day itself, which traditionally takes place on a Thursday. The last parliamentary election took place on 5th May 2005; therefore the next one must take place before 5th May 2010. Registered voters choose a person to represent their Constituency in Parliament. Most candidates are from a political party but hteir could also be independents. After the election, the leader of the party with the most MPs is asked by the Queen to become Prime Minister and form a government to run the country. The leader of the party with the second highest number of MPs becomes the leader of the opposition. If an MP dies or resigns an election would be called.

For more information about Parlimentary elections go to explore Parliament  (7.47 MB)

European Parliamentary Elections

These are held every five years. These elections decide who will represent you in the European Parliament. The last election took place on 10th June 2004. For more information see link below. Wychavon District Council organises all elections in the Wychavon area but elections are paid for by, either, the relevant Council, or the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, depending on which type of election is held.