What the law says

The Labour Party rules require that Labour candidates must be legally qualified AND not disqualified. These requirements about "qualification" and "disqualification" are set out in important laws and summarised below:
 
What the law says - qualification
 
The law says that on the day of nomination (when papers proposing and seconding you as a candidate, signed by ten electors for the ward where you are seeking election, must be submitted to the returning officer (official responsible for elections) of the council), you must:

• be 18 years old or over, AND
• be a British subject (includes Commonwealth citizens under the 1981 Act) or citizen of the European Union, AND
• be and continue to be on the electoral register for the area of the local authority concerned, OR
• for the previous 12 months, as owner or tenant, have occupied land or premises in that area, OR
• had your principal or only place of work in the area during the previous 12 months, OR
• have lived in the area for the whole of the previous 12 months.

What the law says - disqualification
 
Some people are not allowed by law to become local councillors - this is known as being disqualified.
 
The law says that you are disqualified if on the day of nomination, you:

• have been made bankrupt or made a composition or arrangement with creditors
• have been surcharged for more than £500 by the district auditor in the last five years (this is  penalty levied on councillors for breaching financial and other rules)
• have been sentenced to prison (suspended or not) for three months or more, in the last five years
• are disqualified under section 80 of the Local Government Act 1972 and/or the political restriction provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (also known as the Widdicombe rules or "being Widdicombed", after the Minister responsible for the legislation)

The last point covers anyone who:

• works for a public authority in a politically restricted post
• works for the local authority for which the election is being held or whose post is confirmed by the local authority
• works for an organisation which is significantly funded and/or controlled by the local authority or party to a contract with that local authority

You should seek advice if you think you may fall into any of these categories through your job as the legal position is not always clear. For example, you may be employed by another local authority in a post which may be senior enough to be normally described as politically restricted but if it is wholly "back-room" in nature and does not involve contact with elected councillors or the public, you may not be disqualified.