How to become a councillor

You can play a vital role in shaping your community's future by becoming a councillor in Oxford. As a councillor, you give a voice to the community, influencing and shaping the services that impact local lives. Diverse backgrounds strengthen local democracy, and Oxford City Council welcomes candidates from all walks of life to represent their communities.

Roles and responsibilities of a councillor

As a councillor, you will have a variety of responsibilities:

• encouraging community involvement in decision-making
• representing your ward's interests
• responding to constituents' enquiries and issues fairly
• engaging regularly with key local stakeholders
• gaining knowledge about services and factors important to the community

Eligibility to become a councillor

To stand as a local councillor in Oxford, you must:

• be at least 18 years old on nomination and polling day
• be a British, Irish, Commonwealth or EU citizen
• not have been declared bankrupt

While many candidates represent political parties, you can also stand as an independent if you meet these qualifications. Election details are announced as they arise.

How to get nominated as a councillor

To get nominated, you need:

• a nomination paper signed by two registered electors from the ward you wish to represent
• if representing a political party, a certificate of authorisation from the party's nominating officer
• your written consent to the nomination

If you are standing independently, you can only describe yourself as 'Independent' in the paperwork or give no description at all.

All these documents must be submitted to the Returning Officer by noon, 19 working days before polling day.

More information

For more details about standing for election to the Council, contact our Elections Office.

If you are interested in standing in any election to the Council, please let the Elections Office know as soon as possible and they will be able to send you details, the various forms and the detailed election timetable when they become available. 

Find additional information on the GOV.UK website.