While residents all across Swindon have the ability to vote for both their local borough councillors and the Wiltshire & Swindon Police & Crime Commissioner today, those who live in Chiseldon & Lawn are only able to vote in the PCC election this year.
There are 57 members on Swindon Borough Council – and the council operates three-member wards, so it seems logical there would be 19 wards, with three members each.
In fact, there are 20 wards; 18 of which have three members, but one, Chiseldon & Lawn has two members and Ridgway ward has just one.
In theory, it could have been possible to make those wards one, with three members, but it would be, by some distance, much the biggest ward in the borough geographically and the independent Boundary Commission which draws up such things would have felt it would have been unwieldy and too big.
It means that for two elections out of three voters in Ridgeway don’t vote and only get to go to the polls every four years, while Chiseldon & lawn voters get a go two out of every three elections, but sit out one.
However, this will be the last time this system operates. The next election is in 2026 when all seats will be up, and after that there will be elections for every seat once every four years.
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