Become An MP
In the United Kingdom, 650 MPs will be elected in the 2010 general election. The Jury Team intends to put forward a significant number of candidates - this is your chance to make a difference! The Jury Team will support you with advice, research on issues and ideas to help you to win.
You can put yourself forward to run as a candidate for Parliament. In order to do so you will be asked to fill in a form setting out your background, interests, political priorities and so forth. We also charge an administration fee of £25, which includes membership of the Jury Team.
It will then be up to you to demonstrate your campaigning skills and your popularity. You should use all of your contacts and get as much publicity as you can. Contact your local newspapers and your local radio and TV stations. Write to all of the influential people you know or can identify in your area to help you with publicity and fundraising and begin to go to events where you can explain your reasons for becoming a candidate.
In particular you can use the free social networking tools on the internet (Facebook, MySpace, SocialGo, Twitter, YouTube etc) to get your message out as these provide the best and most cost effective way to do this in the modern world. The selection process will remain open until mid-March and other people may well decide to put their names forward in your constituency.
A final decision about your candidature will be made by the 19th March, five weeks after the selection process opened, based on your profile and credentials, on the level of support you are able to show on social networking sites and on any other evidence which is relevant. Assuming the general election is on the 6th May this will give each selected candidate seven weeks to campaign before the general election with the last date for official nomination as a candidate being the 8th April which will give four weeks to find the necessary 10 proposers/seconders for the official nomination form.
We are not able to reimburse any Jury Team candidate for the money they spend as all of the money raised centrally from fundraising will be used on the national campaign to maximise awareness of the Jury Team for the benefit of all of our candidates. Potential candidates therefore have to be responsible for their own fundraising and expenditure. As explained on the Nomination Form, the Jury Team will require you to pay into an escrow account your legally required £500 election deposit within 7 days of your being selected as a Jury Team candidate to ensure that all selected candidates are serious about the election and able to pay their deposit.