Elections and appointments

The Labour Group holds elections for officers and regional representatives every year.

Labour Group Elections 

The Labour Group holds elections for Group officers and Regional Representatives every year.

The LGA Chair and Group Leader were elected for two-year terms in 2023, so these positions will not be contested this year. As Labour remained the largest party at the LGA following the May 2024 election, the Group will again nominate Cllr Shaun Davies as the LGA Chair.

The election for the remaining positions will commence in May 2024, with voting and results announced by June 2024. All Labour Groups on LGA member councils have a vote in these elections and any Labour Councillor can stand for a Group Officer role, or to represent their region. Please see our Labour Group role descriptions and requirements.

The timetable for the elections is as follows:

  • Friday 10th May:   Nominations open 

  • Friday 17th May:   Nominations close (12 noon)

    Should more than one candidate be validly nominated, a ballot will be held:

  • Monday 20th May: Ballot papers distributed to Group Leaders
  • Monday 3rd June:  Ballot closes (noon) and result announced via email to all Labour Cllrs 

All Labour councillors from councils in LGA membership are eligible to self-nominate themselves for these positions, but in accordance with our standing orders, a Labour councillor wishing to be nominated must have the support of their group leader.

A nominee for any Group Officer position shall require the nomination of at least 5 Labour Groups, which must include nominations from at least two different regions or nations. Regional representatives do not require supporting nominations, but must have the endorsement of their group leader.

Labour appointments to LGA member structures

The appointments process for LGA member structures commences after the Group Officer elections are concluded – please do not contact the LGA Labour office regarding appointments, we will notify all councillors when the process opens on Monday 10th June.

Labour Group appointments to LGA member structures are reviewed each year by the elected group officers. All Labour Councillors on LGA member councils are eligible to nominate for the roles.

Applicants must submit a self-nomination form, which will be available on this page when nominations open on Monday 17th June 2024, and needs to be returned by Friday 12th July 2024. Appointments are made by Group Officers in late July.

For further details about this year’s LGA Labour Group elections and appointments you can contact Martin Angus by email: [email protected]

The current Group officers were elected for 2023/2024

Labour appointments to LGA member structures

Labour Group appointments to LGA member structures are reviewed each year in July by the elected group officers. 

Appointments are made to:

The LGA Labour Group appoints Labour members to sit on the LGA’s policy boards, which are responsible for developing a thorough understanding of council priorities in their policy area and helping to shape the LGA’s policy positions and priorities.

There are significant expectations of Labour members who are appointed to boards – please do not apply if you are not willing to meet them. LGA Boards hold up to five formal meetings a year (generally in London), each of which are preceded by a pre-meet for Labour members. Attendance at both the pre-meeting and the board meeting is compulsory, and it is monitored by the Labour Group Chief Whip, with unexplained absences likely to result in removal from the board.

Each board has a named LGA Labour Group lead member, who acts as Chair, Vice-Chair or Deputy Chair. They are considered the lead spokesperson in this policy area for the LGA Labour Group and are expected to be the main political contact with the relevant shadow Cabinet member in Parliament, and ensure effective communication and engagement with Labour in local government via a shadow Cabinet Sounding Board. LGA Labour board members are also expected to actively participate in the LGA Labour Group’s engagement with Labour’s front bench teams through membership of a Sounding Board.

All Labour Councillors on LGA member councils are eligible to apply for the roles by completing a self-nomination form, remembering to obtain the consent of your group leader. Nominations open in May each year and have closed for 2023/24.

Appointments are then made by Labour Group Officers, using the principles outlined below.

Labour Group Appointment Principles

Our boards and panels team should:

  • represent the best that local government has to offer
  • be representative of local government
  • be credible both to Labour Councils and to national politicians.

Labour’s position in local government is changing rapidly. In 2009 Labour controlled just over 30 councils, but Labour is now in control of over 120 councils. In that same time our number of councillors has increased from 4,000 to almost 7,000.

We must make sure that as a group we are keeping up with the changes that are happening on the ground.

We need to maintain the integrity of the LGA Labour Group at all times. Therefore the process for making appointments needs to be fair and transparent.

These are the principles that the Labour Group officers must apply:

1. Our team of councillors have to reflect the political realities on the ground and respect local democratic decision making

Our appointments should:

  • have more councillors in power
  • particular attention should be given to council leaders
  • ideally be cabinet members or shadow cabinet members (With exception of Fire Authorities where members need to be senior members of FAs)
  • reflect the regional balance of our councillors.

2. A commitment to fairer representation
We should at least match the proportion of women and ethnic minority councillors as there amongst all Labour Councillors and should improve on it.

3. Our appointments should involve as many councils as possible
We should have no more than two councillors per authority.

4. Our appointments should maintain the reputation of Labour in local government
Our appointments on relevant boards should not come from authorities that services are subjected to restrictions for poor performance or have serious reputation problems on that particular service.

5. Re-appointments should take into consideration performance and attendance of the councillor over the past year

6. Appointments should only go to councillors from authorities that are in full membership of the LGA
Councillors from authorities that are on notice to leave the LGA should not receive places.

For further details about this year’s LGA Labour Group elections and appointments you can contact Martin Angus by email: [email protected]