Slough Local Elections - Borough Elections From 1997

Borough Elections From 1997

All English local elections to fill one seat are conducted by the first past the post system. Polls to fill two or more places use the bloc vote method, where each elector has the same number of votes as the vacancies to be filled. The voter is free to cast one vote for each of a number of individual candidates equal to the number of vacancies or fewer if preferred.

The Slough Council election, 1997 was a whole Council election for a new authority. It was the 114th Slough General local authority election (including both elections by thirds and whole Council elections).

Fourteen members (who received the highest vote in each ward) were elected for a full four year term, fourteen members (who finished second in each ward) were to serve for three years and the remaining thirteen Councillors (who had finished third in all the wards except for the two member Colnbrook with Poyle ward) were given two year terms.

The 1997 election took place at the "wrong" point in the normal Borough election cycle. Special arrangements were needed to preserve the usual pattern of a third of the Council being elected for four year terms in each of the non County Council election years. 1997 was a year when English County Council elections took place. To put Slough back on the normal election cycle it was intended that Councillors elected in 1999, 2000 and 2001 should serve three year terms and their successors be elected for four years. This plan was disrupted by the re-warding of Slough.

The whole Council election in 2004 (which followed the re-warding of the town as proposed by a report to the Electoral Commission of June 2002) was the 120th Slough General local authority election. The 121st election took place on 4 May 2006, electing a third of the Council for a four year term.