Ways to get involved in democracy

Local councils employ people to work as polling station staff (known as poll clerks), and to count the votes after polling stations close.

To find out about working as a poll clerk or at the count, you need to contact your local council.

You can find your council’s contact details by entering your postcode into our search.

Find out more about working at elections

We authorise people and organisations to observe UK elections and relevant referendums.

If you apply to become an accredited electoral observer, you can visit polling stations and attend the counting of the votes.

Apply to become an electoral observer

If there’s an issue you really care about and you want to get your voice heard, you could contact your local councillor or your Member of Parliament (MP).

You could send an email or a letter, or attend a session called a surgery where you can meet your representative and discuss your issue with them.

You can find out who your representatives are and ways to contact them using Write to Them.

UK Parliament also has information about contacting your MP or a member of the House of Lords.

Depending on where you live and the issue you have, you may also want to contact your:

• Member of the Scottish Parliament, if you live in Scotland
• Member of the Senedd, if you live in Wales
• Member of the Legislative Assembly, if you live in Northern Ireland

Signing or starting a petition is one way to show the UK Government and Parliament what’s important to you. It’s a good way to show other people too.

Sign or start a petition on the UK Government and Parliament website

You can search for open petitions, or use your postcode to find out about petitions local to you.

The UK Government will respond to petitions with more than 10,000 signatures, and petitions with 100,000 signatures will be considered for debate in the UK Parliament.

Do you know a teacher or someone who works in education? Or do you have any young people in your life? If so, our education resources could be exactly what you need to get the conversation about democracy started with young people. 

Check out our education resources

We also have other resources for getting involved in democracy, from leaflets about showing photo ID to vote at the polling station in some elections, to posters about registering to vote. 

If you know someone who’s involved with a local charity, or perhaps someone who works at your local council, you could encourage them to use our resources to share information about voting and elections.

Download our democratic engagement resources

We maintain the registers of political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. If a party wants to stand candidates at an election using a party name, description or emblem, they need to register with us.

You can comment on a current party registration application, and tell us why you think the party name, the descriptions, or the emblems do or do not meet the registration criteria. We’ll consider your comment as part of our assessment process.

Find out more about political party registration

Are you looking for a democracy day out? 

All four of the parliament buildings in the UK (in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) are open to visitors throughout the week. A visit is a great way to learn about the history, and also see day to day democracy in action. 

Find out more about visiting the:

• UK Parliament in Westminster in London
• Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh
• Senedd in Cardiff 
• Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont in Belfast

If you’re interested in finding out more about democracy in Britain, you could also visit the People’s History Museum in Manchester, the national museum of democracy.

You can watch debates, proceedings and events taking place in the:

• UK Parliament
• Scottish Parliament
• Senedd
• Northern Ireland Assembly

Have you ever considered standing as a candidate?

You could become a member of your parish or town council, a local councillor, or even a Member of Parliament. You could also become a member of the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, or the Northern Ireland Assembly, depending on where you live.

We provide guidance for candidates standing in the different types of elections, including information about the nomination process, spending limits, donations, and campaigning. 

Read our candidate guidance

Organisations like Democracy Club, who we work with to provide our postcode search, often look for volunteers to support their work.

Find out about Democracy Club