On Thursday 2 May 2019 Dorset goes to the polls to elect 82 members for the new Dorset Council. Now you can find out who is standing for election.
See the full list of candidates standing in the Dorset Council 2019 elections.
- Who will you vote for in the 2019 Dorset Council elections?
Matt Prosser, Chief Executive (Designate) of Dorset Council and Returning Officer for the elections said:
“You can see who the candidates are, now it’s time to make sure you’re registered to vote.
“Councillors are there to represent you. They will make decisions about services that will affect you.
“If you’re not registered to vote, you won’t have a say in who joins Dorset Council and who makes the decisions about your local area.
“It’s easy to register to vote online. All you need is 5 minutes and your National Insurance number.”
To register to vote online go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
More about how you can vote
To vote in the elections on 2 May you need to be registered before midnight on Friday 12 April.
The deadline for postal vote applications is 5pm on Monday 15 April. Download the form to vote by post.
The deadline to change existing arrangements for postal and proxy votes is 5pm on Monday 15 April.
The deadline to receive new proxy vote applications is 5pm on 24 April.
Find out more about voting by proxy.
If you’re already on the electoral register you do not need to take any action and will automatically receive your poll card soon.
The nomination period to stand in the 2 May Dorset Council election opened on 18 March and closed on 3 April.
Get all the latest news and information about Dorset Council by signing up to our e-newsletter, following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Im standing as a councillor for Lytchett Minster and Upton Town Council ..I have been a Councillor for Purbeck District Council for 18 Years a Dorset County Councillor for 12 Years and a Town Councillor fo 20years .
I will be looking for as much information as I could get not being in the front line any more.
I can see a list of candidates but i can find no information about what the candidates believe in, intend to do, have done in the past. How are we supposed to make a decision when there is no information (or the information is so difficult to find)? Don’t expect a high turnout if we dont know what we are voting for!
There’s no active link to enable us to actually see the list of candidates!
Hi Andrew, there’s an administrative error on the candidate list so it has had to be taken down temporarily. Should be back up again soon!
Imogen
Do you have a link to the town/parish council candidates lists too?
Hi James, sorry for the delayed reply. Hopefully you will have seen already that the town and parish candidates list is on the same page, a few lines down.
Imogen
Thanks Imogen. They are back up now.
I can’t find who the candidates are for my address. The process seems not to have been tested by someone with no information before going live. I want to input my postcode and find the candidates immediately, this does not seem possible
Thanks for the feedback Kathy, I will pass this on to our elections team.
Imogen
I live in Sturminster Marshall and wish to know which candidates are standing in my area. I have no idea who is standing , can you help. From Marilyn
Hi Marilyn, sorry you are having problems finding this information.
You need to know which new ward area you will be in first.
You can find out by either looking at your poll card (if you are registered to vote you should have received this by now) or typing your postcode into the search bar on the Local Government Boundary Commission’s page here: https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/13248
Once you know your new ward details, you can find the candidates standing in your area by looking through the candidate list on this page: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/councillors-committees-elections/elections-and-voting/current-elections-referendums-and-local-polls.aspx
I fully appreciate it’s not as easy as it should be to find out who is standing in your area. Please be assured that we are aware of the issue and trying to resolve it as best we can, as quickly as possible.
Imogen
If you could let us know which wards, if any, elect more than one councillor, and if so how many, that would be helpful. Thanks in advance. Also I noticed that it is not possible to find councillors’ voting records on things like planning committees etc. These things are what many people base their decisions on.
We need to know the candidates names so we can campaign to ensure those from parties that stopped Brexit on 29 March do not get elected.
‘Angray’ .Is this a word ?
If this cock-up is an example of what the future holds, I give up! I come to a site that offeres the list of nominees and it isnt here, Big Fail
Hi Doug,
Do try to keep your tone polite please.
There have been a few technical hitches with the list going live – hopefully all resolved now.
Imogen
YES RICK 🙂 IT’S HERE ON THIS PAGE: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/councillors-committees-elections/elections-and-voting/current-elections-referendums-and-local-polls.aspx
Page not found, AGAIN!
How do we find out who the candidates are standing for please, have found the names but would really like more information on them before voting.
We are West Parley.
Thank you
Hi Jane,
Look in ‘description’ column on the Statement of Nomination (the list showing which candidates are standing in Dorset) and that should tell you if the candidates are standing for a political party or as an independent.
From the looks of things, for West Parley:
LORTIE Jocelyn Grace is a Liberal Democrat candidate
MILLER Ann Josephine is a UKIP candidate
PARRY Andrew Charles is a candidate for The Conservative Party
Imogen
this still does not give any information on them..i am in west moors
Hi Daniel, Sian Merriot is standing as candidate for the Dorchester East ward of Dorchester Town Council.
So she appears on the same ‘Current elections’ page as the Dorset Council candidates but on a separate list.
Go to https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/councillors-committees-elections/elections-and-voting/current-elections-referendums-and-local-polls.aspx
Then scroll down and click on the link ‘candidates for contested parish and town council areas’.
Thanks, Imogen
Imogen,
Unfortunately the link to the lists you gave above takes you to a notice that the page is not available!
This is all very complex and not at all user friendly.
Rod Potts
Parish councillor
Hi Rod,
Broken link now working again. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Imogen
All of the links you’ve posted come up as “Page not found” !!!
Do you check them before posting?
Good morning Daryl,
I do indeed check links before posting news articles.
Unfortunately I am not the administrator of the elections web pages. The page linking to the Dorset Council candidates was edited on Friday – the notice of election for the European Parliament and for the inquorate parishes went live requiring the elections pages to be restructured – and this caused the link in question to break.
Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused but, again, hopefully all resolved now.
Imogen
Well the page says “Page not found”, evening of 14 April. Seems to be a recurring problem. When the deadline has long past this is difficult to understand.
Why can’t I find who is standing for my Ward. I am in Sherborne Rural Ward and cannot access your link, all it says is Page not found.
This close to the elections someone should have tested the links you publish and realise that there is still a problem.
Imogen,
The link you mention does not work – it just gives a ‘Page Not Found’ error. The following link does seem to work:
https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/councillors-committees-elections/elections-and-voting/dorset-council-and-town-and-parish-council-elections-2-may-2019.aspx
Thanks Simon, thanks for flagging. The page containing the candidate list was edited after this article was published causing the link to break. I’ve mended it now.
Imogen
what a joke ! A disaster – No wonder the roads have pot holes, Schools underfunded with huge class numbers, slow internet in rural areas – The country is becoming a joke even the eastern europeans are going home to faster broadband, better kept roads and government websites that work !
Come on administrating a website isn’t that hard is it ?
Why not just take the whole page and links down so people like me don’t waste my precious time, After all should most people be lucky to live 100 months every second counts when its been wasted unintentionally. The most valuable thing i have is once again squandered by local government in some way or another and here is the evidence. Guess what ? Most people don’t care and thats why nothing happens which is going to end in a mess like Brexit and the IraQ war. Faith lost !!! Bring in the communists or right wingers at least they’ll get something done even if it is mass genocide or book burnings !
No one will care ! Who cares i ask you ? NO ONE !
Hi Thick Skin Knumb Skull,
Link now working again. Disaster averted.
Thanks,
Imogen
Hi
The link to candidates is still broken please add the link as soon as possible.
Thanks
Niki
Hi Niki, link working again now. Apologies, editing work on Friday caused the issue, but hopefully resolved now.
Imogen
I have not had any canvassing literature – I imagine the candidates are as confused as I am about why DT4 7PL has moved from Melcombe Regis to Radipole. I don’t know anything about any of the candidates and for the first time in my life I might voluntarily not vote in an election. How can I vote? – Write the names down on pieces of paper and pull them out of a hat!
Hi I’m confused, is today’s election to cover both previous district & county council , previously we had 1 County & 2 district councillors, will just 1 councillor cover the new council for Beaminster?