The 2008 Survey of Local Election Candidates

This report aims to highlight the motivations, perceptions, and experiences of election candidates for English and Welsh councils. The survey was carried out in May 2008 by the University of Plymouth’s Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, in partnership with the IDeA. It features the views of more than a thousand local election candidates.

The survey is now in its third year and throughout this period has delivered consistent results. It covers all aspects of the election process, from a candidate’s initial decision to get involved, all the way through to how those successfully elected do their job.

Some aims and objectives of this survey were informed by the report of the Councillors' Commission, published in December 2007. This highlighted problems of candidate recruitment and identified the means for moving the agenda forward. In response, the 2008 survey asked candidates a range of new questions, including the:

• role that local authorities specifically might play in widening recruitment
• scope for parties to recruit beyond their memberships
• issue of too much turnover amongst newly recruited councillors. 

 The 2008 Survey of Local Election Candidates (PDF, 20 pages, 214KB)

Page published October 2008.