Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Local councils will not have to pay for 'contested' elections.

Wiltshire Council has agreed to pay the costs of elections to town and parish councils. This should hopefully encourage local councils to hold contested elections rather than co-opting new councillors.

In May 2007, when all our parish councils held elections, only a handful held an actual vote. Usually the number of nominees was the same as or less than the number of vacancies. This saves money but doesn't always give local councillors a clear mandate to represent their area.

The cost of a parish election can vary from £800 to £2,000 depending on the size of the electorate and parish councils will no longer have to budget for this cost. However, the cost of a local poll will still have to be met by a parish if one is called. Local polls are quite rare and can only occur if strict criteria are met.