Become a councillor

All councils are led by democratically elected councillors who set the vision and direction of the council and represent their local community.

Councillors are elected to develop local policy, represent local people, make decisions and plan for the future. This includes:

representing the interests of their ward
dealing with constituents' enquiries and representations, fairly and without prejudice
listening to the needs of local people and key stakeholders to take their views into account when considering policy proposals
championing the causes which further the interests, quality of life and sustainable development of the community
developing a working knowledge of the organisations, services, activities and other factors important to a community's wellbeing and identity
contributing to good governance and actively encouraging community participation and citizen involvement in decision-making

Contact a party in the Council

To find out more about what it is like to be a candidate for a particular party, contact one of the following councillors.

Party	Who to contact
Conservative	Councillor Tony Riordan
Ingleby Barwick Independent Society (IBIS)	Councillor Kevin Faulks
Labour	Councillor Nigel Cooke
Thornaby Independent Association	Councillor Sylvia Walmsley

We host a series of events in the year leading up to local elections.

They provide an opportunity for you find out more about being a councillor and standing as a candidate. You will:

hear about some of the Council's latest major successes and some of the challenges that we are facing
get the opportunity to meet current councillors