Standing in a local election is a big step.

Being a local councillor can be very rewarding. Taking a full and active part in the community is very satisfying. The feeling knowing you have helped someone is fantastic. It is also hard work and can take a huge amount of time.

A simple planning issue might involve meeting with the applicant or neighbour, before speaking with the relevant planning officer. There is always two sides to a planning issue so keeping a balance is important. It might mean “calling in” the application to try and get it heard at the full planning committee rather than being decided by an officer under delegated authority. This involves attending a meeting of the delegation panel and making the case one way or another. Sometimes I call in applications, not because I have a view one way or another but because I believe the matter is of public interest and should be heard in public.

Applying to stand for election involves forms. Lots of forms. If you are standing as a member of a party there might be some help with them but as an individual it can be daunting and if the forms are incorrect you don’t get to stand!

Producing a plan to get elected is essential.

What literature do you want to create? What messages are you trying to get over? Who will do your printing? Who will design your leaflets? How many leaflets do you want and do you also want calling cards, get out the vote cards and eve of election letters? There are legal requirements to say who is responsible for the leaflet called an imprint which must be on everything.

Who will help you deliver? A Suffolk County County division is roughly 9000 people often spread over huge distances.

Are you going to use social media? How will you use it? Does it all link together effectively? A lot of decisions. I prefer to use social media all year round, to keep people informed, rather than just at election times.

Then there is a lot of door knocking and chatting to people. In rural areas houses can be spread out and finding them is not always simple.

As voting day approaches the excitement / tension rises.

Local elections should be about the individual and what they can do to help, but unfortunately it is often national politics that influence results.

The day of the election is usually spent hopping around the polling stations thanking the folk manning the polling stations. The votes are usually counted the next day and that is always interesting. Watching and counting the votes can be fun. Decisions have to be made about any spoiled papers and finally the results are announced.

The majority of those who stand for election face dealing with the fact they have not been elected. Rejection can be hard. It can be sobering but the reality is there can be only one winner. To the winner goes the spoils, as they say.

But then the hard work starts……… parish council meetings, calls and emails at all times of the day, committee meetings, full council, meeting with residents, schools, and the occasional keyboard warrior who might not be as reasonable as perhaps they should be.

I would encourage all of you to get out and vote, who ever you vote for, and use your hard fought for right.