Elections
Elections are a democratic process where citizens aged 18 and over elect political candidates to represent them and their interests locally, nationally or internationally.
All elections held within the city - local, general and European elections - are organised by Salford City Council's Elections Office. Click these links to learn more.
Local elections
An ordinary local government election is usually held on the first Thursday in May, the next election will be on Thursday 3 May 2012.
Salford City Council has 60 councillors, or elected members, who represent particular areas, known as electoral wards.
There are 20 wards in the city, and all have three councillors representing them. Each councillor serves for four years at a time and come up for election on a rota basis. This is because local elections are held in three out of every four years with one third of the 60 councillors retiring at each election.
To find out the details of all 60 councillors and the wards they represent, together with their retirement dates, you can view a list of councillors by name or councillors by elected ward.
The last local election was held on Thursday 5 May 2011.
General (parliamentary) Elections
A parliamentary general election has to take place within five years of the last general election, no later than the year 2015. The government may call a general election at any time during that five year period.
One MP (Member of Parliament) is elected for each parliamentary constituency by way of majority. Each MP then serves in the House of Commons, representing his or her constituency.
Salford City Council has two parliamentary constituencies: Worsley and Eccles South and Salford and Eccles. Please note: Kersal and Broughton wards will come under the jurisdiction of Manchester City Council in Blackley and Broughton Borough Constituency. People in these two wards will vote for the Blackley and Broughton MP at general elections and not the Salford MP as in previous years. However, people in these two wards will still:
- Vote to elect local councillors for Salford City Council
- Pay their council tax to Salford City Council
- Receive services from Salford City Council
To find out the details of the three MPs and their contact details, you can view information on the UK Parliament website.
The last general election was on Thursday 6 May 2010.
European elections
European Parliamentary elections are held every five years, normally in June. The election dates are set by the European Parliament. The next election will be in 2014.
At a European election electors vote for a political party instead of voting for an individual candidate. The number of seats that a party gets depends on the share of the vote that it receives in each region.
The UK is divided into 12 regions. Salford City Council is in the North West region, which is represented by eight MEPs.
To find out further information on MEPs, together with how to contact them, you can view the European Parliament page.
To find out more about European Elections in the North West visit the North West Voters website.
The last European election was on Thursday 4 June 2009.
By-elections
A by-election, or casual vacancy, can occur due to the resignation or death of a councillor or member of parliament.
The last by-election in Salford City Council was held on Thursday 20 October 2011 in the Eccles ward.
This page was last updated on 3 November 2011
