Standing as Cheshire East Councillor
Councillor roles and responsibilities
Being a Councillor requires commitment and hard work but is very rewarding.
A Councillor’s main role and responsibilities include:
- representing the ward for which they are elected
- acting as an advocate for their residents
- making major decisions about Council services and budgets
- developing and reviewing Council policies
- regulatory, quasi-judicial and statutory duties (for example, considering planning and licensing applications)
Qualifications needed to be a Councillor
You do not need any special qualifications to stand as a Councillor although an understanding of how to use IT equipment is essential as Cheshire East is a digital Council. Accordingly, IT equipment will be provided to each Councillor to enable them to carry out their role.
There are certain restrictions on who can stand. The Electoral Commission website has further information about this.
What to expect as a Cheshire East Councillor
You would be expected to live by and demonstrate the values and behaviours (PDF, 1.3MB) placed on all elected Members by Cheshire East Council.
A general obligation regarding appropriate behaviour is also placed on Councillors by the Cheshire East Council Members’ Code of Conduct.
The Council is also supporting the Local Government Association’s Debate not Hate campaign.
As an individual, you would have to balance the interests of your residents (the ward role), the needs of the authority (the Council role) and the political party you represent (if any) plus your family commitments, all of which will make demands on your time.
Sometimes, there might be challenges in striking that balance, for instance where the interests of your residents don’t align with the needs of the Council.
You will need to be available to attend meetings of full Council and any other bodies you are appointed to, the majority of which are currently held during the day. If you are appointed as a chairman or vice chairman, your workload will be greater. See the current schedule of meetings.
You may need to arrange for some time off work or from other activities for your Council duties; advice can be found on the Gov.uk website.
Term of office
Councillors are elected to serve for a period of four years. At the end of this period, they may retire or stand for re-election. Elections will next be held in 2027.
Training and support you can expect to receive from the Council
As a Cheshire East Councillor, Members are expected to act in the best interests of the authority and its residents. As the role and its responsibilities may be unfamiliar or new to those elected, the Council provides an ongoing, wide-ranging programme of training, health and wellbeing support, specifically tailored to the role(s) Members perform within the authority, in line with the Member Development Strategy (PDF 246KB).
In return, our Councillors are expected to take responsibility for their own development by attending events arranged for them and setting time aside to engage with the programme. As legislation and best practice constantly changes, Members are required to refresh their skills each year.
Some training has been designated as mandatory in the programme, attendance at which is a requirement of the role. These mandatory events have been designed to:
- align with the council’s strategic priorities of unlocking prosperity for all, improving health and wellbeing and being an effective and enabling council
- explain the council’s governance structures and the scheme of delegation
- ensure that the council and its Members are compliant with the legal obligations placed upon them when making decisions
The training programme sits within the Member Development Plan, a copy of which is provided in the welcome pack given to newly elected Members.
Councillor allowances
This is not a salaried position but Councillors do receive payment in the form of a basic allowance, and may receive a further allowance if they hold a position with additional responsibilities on the council, see the councillor expenses and allowances page for more information.
Interested in standing as a councillor
Once you’ve decided to stand as a Councillor there are two main routes; you can decide to stand for a political party or group or as an independent candidate.
Links related to being a Councillor:
Page last reviewed: 02 June 2025
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