Local government elections 2026

Information for candidates

Candidates and agents briefing 16 March 2026

A briefing session for prospective candidates and agents who are interested in standing for the elections will take place on Monday 16 March 2026 at 6pm via Microsoft Teams.

To attend the briefing session, you must register online.

If you are unable to attend the briefing session, you will be able to watch the session on our YouTube channel and download the presentation shortly afterwards.

If you have any further queries please contact electreg@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk or phone 01782 742249.

Candidate guidance

Qualifications for candidates wishing to stand in the elections can be found on the Electoral Commission website.

Newcastle-under-Lyme will be producing their own candidate guidance for borough and parish councillors and these will be available to collect with nomination packs and for download shortly.

Eligibility

To be eligible to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming local elections, you must be:

  • aged 18 or over
  • be either a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, a qualifying EU citizen (citizens from Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain) or an EU citizen with retained rights (those who have been legally resident in the UK since before the UK left the EU on 31 December 2020)

and meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • be a registered local government elector (in the local government area where you are standing for borough candidates, or within the parish area for parish candidates)
  • occupy any land or other premises as an owner or tenant (within the local authority area for borough candidates, or within the parish area for parish candidates).
  • mainly or only work in the local authority area (for borough candidates) or parish area (for parish candidates).
  • live in the local authority area (for borough candidates), or live within the parish area or within 3 miles of it (for parish candidates).

Nominations

Once a candidate has decided to stand for an election, they must complete and submit a nomination pack.

The nominations period runs from Friday 27 March at 9.30am until 4pm on Thursday 9 April 2026.

Nominations will take place by appointment only and prospective candidates will be able to book their slots online shortly.

Nomination packs provided by the Electoral Commission, can be downloaded.

For borough candidates, requests for the electoral register and absent voters lists can also be downloaded shortly.

Maps

Ward maps will be available to download shortly.

Contact information for candidates