News and Communication

On 4 June, residents in the borough saw the biggest set of elections since the last General Election.

It was completely understandable that residents took a little longer in their polling booths than normal as they voted for representatives in both the county and European elections and in some areas also parish and borough council by-elections.

I would like to thank everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to vote, whether it was in person, proxy vote or postal vote.

In total, 33,601 people voted on the day out of a possible 97,604, which represents just over 34 per cent of the electorate.

The whole process went very smoothly, from the minute elections cards dropped through people’s letter boxes right through to when the last vote was counted.

This is all down to the hard work of the elections staff at the borough council who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for many weeks, for which I’m grateful.

The presiding officers and poll clerks also played an important part, devoting their entire day by sitting at polling stations from 7am until 10pm.

Voting is one of the privileges of living in a democratic nation and we should never lose sight of that fact.

It gives you the chance to have your say on issues that directly affect you – everything from roads and recycling to education and climate change.

In order to vote, you need to make sure you are registered on the electoral register. To do this, you need to be 16-years-old or over, although you have to be 18-years-old to actually vote.

If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so by contacting Julia Cleary or Rebecca Hadley at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council on 01782 742227 or 742229 respectively.

Alternatively, e-mail electreg@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk