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Types of elections

Different types of elections and when they're held.

Everyone in the Wiltshire Council area is represented by:

Dates of elections
Type of electionLast electionNext scheduled election
Local (Wiltshire Council and Parish) elections May 2021May 2025
PCC election 2 May 2024May 2028
UK Parliamentary (General) election4 July 2024To be confirmed

Local elections

Local elections are held once every four years on the first Thursday of May using the first past the post system (see GOV.UK: Guidance - First Past the Post and Alternative Vote explained (opens new window)). There are 98 Unitary Divisions that make up Wiltshire Council. There could also be an election known as a by-election in a specific area if a councillor needs to be replaced. This is known as a casual vacancy occurring.

In a local election you're voting to elect councillors for Wiltshire who will represent your views for the area, where you live.

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)

Police and Crime Commissioner elections are held every four years on the first Thursday of May.

Philip Wilkinson (Conservative Party) was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner of the Wiltshire Police area on Friday 3 May 2024.

Find out about the role of the PCC at The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners: Role of the PCC (opens new window).

The electoral area for the PCC is made up of Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. The election takes place across both local authorities and the results are collated by the Police Area Returning Officer who is currently Lucy Townsend, Wiltshire Council.

UK Parliamentary (General) elections

A UK Parliamentary General Election was held on Thursday 4 July 2024.

In general elections, you elect somebody to represent you in Parliament, as a Member of Parliament (MP), in a parliamentary constituency.

Wiltshire Council is made up of 6 constituencies.  

  • Chippenham
  • East Wiltshire 
  • Melksham and Devizes 
  • South West Wiltshire 
  • Salisbury
  • South Cotswold

Additionally, Wiltshire Council partly votes with the neighbouring local authority Cotswold District Council in the new Parliamentary Constituency of South Cotswold. 
The constituency is made up of the following electoral divisions in Wiltshire: Brinkworth, By Brook, Cricklade and Latton, Kington, Malmesbury, Minety, Purton and Sherston.

The election for those areas in administered by Cotswold District Council. This means that Cotswold District Council are responsible for the polling stations, postal votes and declaring the results for this constituency.

The parliamentary boundaries that came into force in July 2024 can be viewed on Boundary Commission for England (opens new window).

Referendums

A referendum is a vote by the electorate on a single question. There are both national and local referendums held.

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