Town and parish councillors are elected to represent a geographical area known as a ward or – mainly in smaller councils – the parish, community or neighbourhood council area as a whole. They are elected by people who live in the area.

If a town council is divided into wards an election is held in each ward, the same way elections are held in district or borough wards.

Most town and parish council elections are on the same cycle as the principal authorities, with elections in 2021, 2025, then 2029 and every four years thereafter.

Councillors have three main areas of work:

• Decision-making: through attending meetings and committees with other elected members, councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered and what policies should be implemented
• Monitoring: councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working
• Getting involved locally: as local representatives, councillors have responsibilities towards their constituents and local organisations. This often depends on what the councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available

The day-to-day work of a town councillor may include:

• going to meetings of local organisations such as tenants' associations
• going to meetings of bodies that affect the wider community, such as the police, the Highways Authority, schools and colleges
• taking up issues on behalf of members of the public, such as making representations to the principal authorities
• running a surgery for residents to bring up issues
• meeting with individual residents in their own homes