The local elections are coming up in May 2025 and Kent County Council (KCC) is inviting people to find out more about this important role with a view to getting involved and becoming a candidate.
All your questions will be answered at an information event - supported and facilitated by the Local Government Association (the national voice of local authorities) - on Friday 25 October at KCC headquarters in Maidstone.
There are no special qualifications required to become a councillor. No ideal age (albeit a minimum age of 18), no alignment to a political party necessary nor a particular background.
In fact, KCC is actively looking for people with diverse and far-ranging life experiences to best reflect and represent those around them, bringing what is real into the council chamber. That can include, but is not limited to, running a business, raising a family and volunteering for a good cause.
Being a councillor is flexible so it can work it around your life. It provides a platform to champion the views of people in your local community and helps shape policies that affect all areas of our daily lives. It comes with an allowance, and a supportive team on hand to ensure you get back as much as you put in.
Current councillors have said it has given them confidence to speak in public and put forward ideas, a sense of achievement in making a difference and they have learned so much about both how decisions are taken and why it is vital to question and challenge during that process.
At the event in the council chamber at Sessions House on Friday 25 October between 11am and 1pm, you will hear from councillors and council officers about how the council works, the services it provides and what local democracy looks like in action, the variety in the role, the challenges and the rewards.
There will be panel discussions and a question-and-answer session. The event will be recorded and available to watch back if you cannot make it in person on the day.
For more information, to register for the event and to take a look at a video interview with serving councillors explaining why they do what they do, visit: Be a councillor - Kent County Council
The watch back link will also be available on this page after the event.
To learn more about KCC’s elections, visit: Kent County Council election - Kent County Council
“...it has been enormously rewarding and a central part of my life.”
Leader of KCC Roger Gough and Dylan Jeffrey, KCC Cabinet Member for Communications and Democratic Services, will both be at the event.
Cllr Gough said: “I decided to stand for County Council quite soon after my family moved to Kent, more than 20 years ago.
“I was a little uncertain as to what I would find, but it has been enormously rewarding and a central part of my life.”
“Getting involved in the County Council was important to me...”
Cllr Jeffrey said: “Getting involved in the County Council was important to me, not just to have a positive influence on big things like education, children's and adult services, where I want to make a difference strategically for the county, but because I wanted to get the little things done that were important within my local community - like cleaning the gullies at the side of the road within my local neighbourhood or getting help and the right support to the most vulnerable.
“Making a difference, no matter how big or small, and changing things and lives for the better; that is why I wanted to be involved and serve the people of my area and the residents and businesses in Kent.”
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