Latest Electoral News

Review of Parliamentary Constituencies

The electoral boundaries affecting South Staffordshire are likely to remain unchanged according to initial proposals published by the Boundary Commission on 13th September 2011. The South Staffordshire Constituency is just one of three constituencies within Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent that are proposed to remain unchanged.

The Commission has been reviewing parliamentary boundaries as part of a wider plan to reduce the number of MPs in the House of Commons from 650 to 600.

The review is due to conclude in 2013 but will not take effect until the next Parliamentary election scheduled for May 2015.

A copy of the boundaries of all constituencies within the West Midlands region can be viewed during normal office hours at our Council Offices in Codsall.

You can download the proposed boundaries of the two constituencies that cover our district by clicking on the links below:

Proposed South Staffordshire Constituency

Proposed Stafford Constituency

Latest situation - Autumn 2012:

The revised proposals have now been published (16 October 2012) The Boundary Commission for England are now consulting on the revised proposals until 10 December 2012.

Following the initial proposal for no change to the South Staffordshire County Constituency this has now changed under the revised proposals by taking in the whole of the District Ward of Wheaton Aston, Bishopswood and Lapley from the Stafford CC.

Under existing boundary arrangements the whole of the ward comes under the Stafford CC which means that the parish ward of Bishopswood that comes under the Brewood and Coven district ward was split from the rest of this ward at a Parliamentary election and in accordance with the guidance of the Commission they try to avoid splitting district wards which are used as the building blocks for constituencies.

Revised South Staffordshire Constituency

Revised Stafford Constituency

See under external links below for contacting the Boundary Commission.

Electoral Review of Staffordshire

The Local Government Boundary Commission has now concluded its electoral review of Staffordshire County Council which commenced in September 2010.

The review was aimed at making local elections fairer by ensuring that all councillors represent a similar number of people across the County and that Staffordshire County Council has the appropriate number of councillors to represent the district of South Staffordshire effectively.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) has now published its final proposals for the Electoral Review of Staffordshire - click under external links below.

The changes will take effect from the County Council elections in 2013. In summary a new register of electors will be created for the rural part of the CEA register (Penkridge West) to represent the new parish ward of Levedale. The other change is that the parish of Lower Penn (BXA register) will come under the Kinver division.

Revised County Electoral Division boundaries within South Staffordshire

Polling District, Places and Stations Review 2011

polling station image

A review of polling station venues in South Staffordshire commenced in July 2011 as we looked for local residents to us about experiences at

the ballot box. We last formally reviewed all our polling stations back in 2007.

The deadline for submissions was the 9th September 2011. The revised polling scheme was approved by the Council’s Regulatory Committee on 18th October 2011.

Though the formal review has finished we welcome your views and comments at any times, especially about accessibility issues to any venue.

Sending in your comments in the form of a letter or,
E-mailing your comments to elections@sstaffs.gov.uk

The address for Electoral Services is the Council Offices, Codsall, South Staffordshire WV8 1PX.

To view or download the latest polling scheme please see external links below.

Customer Service Excellence

Electoral Services first achieved Charter Mark status for excellence in customer services in 2006. In 2010 the service successfully achieved the Government's new national standard for customer excellence and by the end of 2011 after the annual health check was fully compliant with this latest Cabinet Office standard.

The Council has not re-applied to renew its status but the service is committed to being customer focussed and welcome your views on anything we provide or do!

Calling postal voters

Over 2,000 people who use postal votes at elections are being asked to look out for a letter which the council has sent to them this January – asking them whether they still want a postal vote.

There are more than 9,500 registered postal voters in South Staffordshire – but every five years the council needs to collect a fresh signature from postal voters to make sure their votes are safe when it comes to election time.

This year, some 2,300 postal voters are being asked whether they still want to vote by post - and if they do – they’re being urged to return their forms as soon as they can to the council.

Keeping your postal vote is easy. If you’ve received a letter from us, simply fill in the form and return it to us as soon as you can – but ideally by 1^st February.

Your date of birth should already be on the form – but please check .If your date of both is wrong then simply add the correct one in the boxes provided.

If you vote by post but don’t receive a letter from us - then you don’t have to do anything.