Standing as Parish Council in 2 Wards

Question

Can anybody explain why a Councillor who has stood on a ward for the past 8 years this time has put up for a second ward making that ward uncontested. I appreciate you can do this by law but really confuses me what do they have to gain, I would suggest their original Ward would be as usual a safe seat.

Answer 1

Perfectly their choice, but usually to reduce the risk of an election (and the costs associated with it).

Comments

Quite so. Just for the record, not all principal authorities impose charges on parishes for the regular elections. Most do charge for by-elections.

Answer 2

Which ward is uncontested?  Their original ward or the second ward? If the Cllr stands for a Political party, they may have been instructed to do so!   "To reduce the "risk" of an election amounts" promotes a culture of  apathy and  co opting cronies.

Comments

The second ward is shown as uncontested, and tend to agree with your co opting comments.