How to become a councillor

The Improvement Service has developed a website for candidates standing in the local government elections in May 2017 and beyond.

The local councillor website will replace our Candidate’s Guide to Becoming a Councillor which was published prior to the 2012 local government elections.

Preparations for the Scottish Local Government elections on Thursday 5 May 2022 are well under way. If you intend to stand as a candidate in the election then the Electoral Commission Letter to Prospective candidates may be of interest.
 
The website will help potential candidates make a decision on whether they would like to stand, highlight the important role councillors have in improving the lives of people in their area and support candidates that haven’t previously been councillors to be better informed about what is expected of them should they be elected. The site will continue to be updated with new content up until the elections on 4 May 2017 and candidates can keep up to date on twitter @LocalCllr2017 or by signing up to the newsletter on the local councillor website.
 
The website is being promoted through contacts in all 32 councils, as well as a number of partner organisations and through social and mainstream media channels.