The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) All-Britain Steering Committee has produced a new summary guide for candidates and election agents who are thinking about contesting the local council elections that are taking place in 2025 on Thursday May 1st. 

The guide contains information on the official regulations governing the elections, based on publications produced by the Electoral Commission, along with some tips and pointers drawn from the previous experience of TUSC election campaigners. 

As well explaining the official election rules, the guide also includes information on the procedures agreed by the steering committee on how to get to use one of the descriptions available from TUSC on your local ballot paper.  For the first time the options include the newly registered description, Independent Trade Union and Socialist Candidate, a far clearer identifier of what someone stands for than the bare label, ‘Independent’.

There will be around 2,150 councillors elected in May 2025 – see the TUSC elections directory for which councils have elections this time (at https://www.tusc.org.uk/21162/06-09-2024/where-will-there-be-elections-in-2025/).

These contests will be the first big electoral test of the new Tory-lite Starmer government.  With no deposits needed to stand for a local election seat, the question is: why couldn’t YOU be on the ballot paper to help build an alternative to the establishment parties?  The guide shows how it can be done. ■

The 2025 Guide for Local Council Election Candidates and Agents is available as a downloadable PDF at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-Guide-for-Candidates-Agents.pdf

An application form for candidates to use the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition name and emblem on the ballot paper, or any of the other eight descriptions TUSC has registered with the Electoral Commission, is available on the TUSC website at https://www.tusc.org.uk/2025-application-form-cllr/.