Scores of parish councillors may find themselves facing re-election far sooner than they had expected.

Maidstone council has taken the decision to re-align parish council elections with its own.

Previously the borough was elected one-third at a time over a three-year period, with one year off when KCC elections took place. Each councillor served for four years.

But when the current Conservative administration came to power in May 2021, they pledged to change the election cycle so the whole council was elected together.

There was a legal process to go through but that change comes into effect in the elections next May.

Previously parish councils had gone their own way, with some holding elections in one year, others the next.

Now they will all be aligned and must hold their elections on the same day as the borough council.

That means that some parish councillors, who were elected last May, will only have served one year of their four-year term before they must seek election again.

They include councillors in Bearsted, Broomfield and Kingswood, Collier Street, Detling, Downswood, Harrietsham, Langley, Leeds, Lenham, Loose, Nettlestead, Otham, Staplehurst, Sutton Valence, Thurnham, Tovil and Yalding.

Seventeen parish councils were in any case due to hold their elections next May and so will be unaffected by the change.

There will be cost advantages for the parishes in holding their elections at the same time as the borough – they won’t be charged with the cost of running an election, which will borne by the borough.

Additionally, all voters will be issued with a polling card, which does not happen when a parish council holds an election out of time with the borough, unless they specifically ask for it – and pay the cost, which can be more than £1,000.

However, it does mean that next May’s elections will be turning into something of a “Super Thursday” with a need to find potentially hundreds of candidates at the same time.

With the elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner also being held that day, voters will be given three ballot papers to fill in when they enter the polling booth.

It also means it is likely to be a long night for the tellers at the count, which are often also held the following day.

However, many parish councils already struggle to find enough candidates to stand, which can mean anyone who puts their name forward is automatically “elected” – without a vote being cast.

Recently some parish councils have even found it difficult to achieve the necessary quorum to function, which has led to some borough councilors being co-opted to take on a dual role.

Detling is one such example.

Cllr Clive English, the leader of the Lib Dem group at Maidstone council, is also simultaneously a parish councillor at three councils – Bearsted, Detling and Tovil.