
By-elections take place on Thursday 6th March 2025

Beth Forrester
ST STEPHENS WARD

Lawrence Coomber
HERNE & BROOMFIELD WARD

Valerie Kenny
GORRELL WARD
LABOUR ACTION
How to vote
By-elections happen when a councillor stands down and another person is needed to represent people in their place.
On Thursday 6th March there are by-elections for residents of St Stephen’s Ward in Canterbury, Gorrell Ward in Whitstable and Herne & Broomfield Ward.
No other residents are voting on this day.
The deadline to register to vote for the elections is 12 midnight on Tuesday 18th February 2025.
You can register to vote online, or you can also use the website to amend the electoral roll.
Registering to vote takes about five minutes, but you do need your National Insurance Number.
The deadline to apply for a postal vote for the by-elections is 5pm on Wednesday 19th February 2025.
You can apply for a postal vote if you are unable to get to the polling station on the day.
Your postal vote will be sent to you approximately ten days before the election. If you don’t fill it out and return it on time you can drop it into a polling station on election day.
The deadline to apply for a proxy vote for the elections is Wednesday 26th February 2025.
If you can’t vote in person on election day you can ask someone to do it on your behalf. This is called a proxy vote.Â
You can ask anyone to act as your proxy as long as they’re registered to vote and can vote in the same type of election. A proxy can only vote on behalf of two other people, unless they’re close family members.
You must give the reason that you can’t vote in person when you apply
Your polling station should be listed on your polling card sent to you before the election.
A full list of polling stations is available on the Canterbury City Council website.
You will need photo ID to vote in the May elections or a Voter Authority Certificate.
If you don’t have photo ID (a passport, driving licence) you can apply online for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC). The deadline for applying for this certificate is 5pm on Wednesday 26th February 2025.
Click here for a full list of eligible photo ID you can use on election day


GET IN TOUCH
As your local Councillors, we can help residents on a range of issues, such as council tax, bin collections, housing issues, social services, schools and roads and pavements.
Please use the contact form to get in touch with us. Please remember to provide as many details as possible, including your name, address, issue, and full contact details.
Your Labour Councillors also hold face-to-face and online surgeries using Zoom/Microsoft Teams. At each session, we’ll be available to help with local issues. Click here to book an appointment for surgery.