First Presbyterian Church (Non Subscribing) · Photo: NateBergin · CC BY 4.0Paul Maskey won Belfast West by one of Northern Ireland’s widest margins in 2024
Metropolitan Lisburn is run by Belfast City Council, its only council: Northern Ireland has one tier of local government. No party holds a majority; Sinn Féin has the most seats, 22 of 60. Metropolitan Lisburn is split between 2 Westminster constituencies. At Stormont it elects MLAs in 2 Assembly constituencies, five each.
May 2027
Council and Assembly elections are both due.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland ↗How Metropolitan Lisburn is run, in four numbers
No party holds a majority
In May 2023 Sinn Féin won the most seats on Belfast City Council, 22 of 60, short of the 31 a majority needs. It ran 26 candidates across the council’s ten district electoral areas and 22 were elected. Who’s in charge ↓
Two council areas, twelve councillors
85% of Metropolitan Lisburn’s residents live in the Collin district electoral area. Collin elected 5 Sinn Féin and 1 People Before Profit from 13 candidates; 7 others were not elected. Turnout there was 57%, 25th of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas. Councillors ↓
A wide Westminster margin
Paul Maskey won Belfast West by 15,961 votes in July 2024, 40.2% of votes cast: the 1st-widest margin of Northern Ireland’s 18 seats. Turnout was 53%, the 16th-highest in Northern Ireland (average 57%). Parliament ↓
Rates up 23% since 2020–21
The average home in Belfast paid £1,032 in rates in 2025–26, 23% more than the £842 of 2020–21 (Northern Ireland: 24%). About 45% of a bill is the council’s district rate; the rest is the Executive’s regional rate, which rose faster this year. Rates ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results, the UK Parliament Members API, and Land & Property Services and Department of Finance rates.
No party holds a majority on Belfast City Council
Seats on Belfast City Council, as elected in May 2023, and how the other ten councils compare.
- Sinn Féin2226 stood
- DUP1418 stood
- Alliance1118 stood
- SDLP511 stood
- Green310 stood
- UUP27 stood
- Independent14 stood
- People Before Profit18 stood
- TUV16 stood
As elected on 18 May 2023, with each party’s candidates.
A party needs 31 of the 60 seats to outvote the rest. No party has that: Sinn Féin is largest with 22. Northern Ireland’s councils share out the chair, deputy chair and committee chairs among the parties in proportion to their seats, so the council is run by several parties together. DUP is second with 14 seats, from 18 candidates.
Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Seats by party as elected in May 2023, largest party named. Only one of the 11 has a single-party majority.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who was elected at each count. A councillor who stands down is replaced by co-option from the same party.
One council, and Stormont for the rest
Metropolitan Lisburn has no county council and no town or parish council: since 2015 Northern Ireland has had 11 councils, each the only council for its area.
Bins and recycling, leisure centres, parks and cemeteries, local planning, building control, environmental health, licensing, tourism and local economic development, and the community plan.
www.belfastcity.gov.uk ↗Its departments run what English county councils do and more: schools (the Education Authority), health and social care, roads and street lighting (DfI Roads), and housing (the Northern Ireland Housing Executive). It also sets the regional rate.
northernireland.gov.uk ↗NI Water supplies water and sewerage (paid for through the rates, not a separate bill), Libraries NI runs the libraries, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland the police, overseen by the Policing Board.
Who to ask
Green: the council. Gold: a Stormont department or one of its agencies. Gray: another public body. The police district shares the council’s boundary, so Belfast’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership covers the same ground as the council.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Metropolitan Lisburn, from the most recent elections. Sinn Féin’s MPs, Belfast West’s included, don’t take their seats at Westminster.
- 1Belfast City Council2 district electoral areas · 12 councillorsSinn Féin 6 · People Before Profit 1 · Independent 1 · DUP 1 · UUP 1 · Alliance 1 · SDLP 1 · all 12
- 2Northern Ireland Assembly2 constituencies · 10 MLAsSinn Féin 4 · Alliance 2 · DUP 2 · People Before Profit 1 · UUP 1 · all 10
- 3House of Commons2 constituencies
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own.
12 councillors for Metropolitan Lisburn’s two district electoral areas
- Caoimhín McCann
- Clíodhna Nic Bhranair
- Joe Duffy
- Matt Garrett
- Michael Collins
- Seanna Walsh
Also stood: Ash Jones (Green), Eóin Millar (Alliance), Gerard McDonald (SDLP), Julieann McNally (Independent), Luke McCann (Aontú), Paddy Crossan (Workers Party), Tony Mallon (Independent).
- Gary Hynds
- Jonathan Craig
- Nicholas Trimble
- Nicola Parker
- Pat Catney
- Paul Burke
Also stood: Linsey Gibson (UUP), Scott Carson (DUP), Stephen Martin (Alliance).
Each district electoral area elects five to seven councillors by single transferable vote: voters number the candidates in order, and a candidate who reaches the quota is elected, with spare votes passed on to the next preference. An area can reach beyond the town. A councillor who stands down is replaced by their party (co-option), so the names can change without an election.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who stood and who was elected on 18 May 2023. Democracy Club. First-preference votes and turnout: How Metropolitan Lisburn voted ↓
First preferences in Collin, May 2023
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 1,995. Elected candidates are in bold.
First-preference share by party
The tick is the party’s share across all 80 areas in 2023.
14,217 of Collin’s 24,938 voters turned out, 57%, 2nd of Belfast’s ten areas (council 53%) and 25th of Northern Ireland’s 80 (average 54.7%). Lisburn North turned out 51.2%, 57th of 80. With 13,962 valid votes and six seats the quota was 1,995. Joe Duffy and Caoimhín McCann passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats.
Lisburn North’s first preferences
Quota 1,207 from 8,444 valid votes. Paul Burke and Jonathan Craig passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats. Nicholas Trimble (UUP) was 8th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Scott Carson (DUP), 4th on first preferences.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: 2023 result sheets and turnout by district electoral area (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Votes are first preferences at the first count.
Who stood, and who was elected
Every candidate for Belfast City Council, by party: the light bar is candidates, the solid bar those elected.
Share of candidates elected, Northern Ireland
Parties with 10 or more candidates across all 11 councils.
121 candidates stood for 60 seats across Belfast City Council in May 2023, 2.0 for each seat (Northern Ireland: 1.75). By candidates per seat, Collin ranked 7th (13 for 6) and Lisburn North ranked 67th (9 for 6) of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas, where 1st is the most contested. Sinn Féin elected 22 of its 26 candidates; DUP won 14 of 18 and Alliance won 11 of 18.
The 2023 council election: same source as Councillors, above. Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0): candidates and who was elected, 18 May 2023, all 80 district electoral areas.
Metropolitan Lisburn is split between 2 Assembly constituencies
Five MLAs for each of 18 constituencies, elected by single transferable vote. A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so names may have changed. The Assembly’s constituencies are the Westminster ones as they were before 2024.
Also stood (12): Dan Murphy (IRSP), Declan Hill (Independent), Donnamarie Higgins (Alliance), Frank McCoubrey (DUP), Gerard Burns (Independent), Gerard Herdman (Aontú), Jordan Doran (TUV), Linsey Gibson (UUP), Patrick Crossan (Workers Party), Paul Doherty (SDLP), Stevie Maginn (Green), Tony Mallon (Independent).
Also stood (7): Amanda Doherty (People Before Profit), Gary Hynds (Independent), Gary McCleave (Sinn Féin), Laura Turner (UUP), Lorna Smyth (TUV), Pat Catney (SDLP), Simon Lee (Green).
Belfast West elected 4 Sinn Féin and 1 People Before Profit from 17 candidates. Across Northern Ireland Sinn Féin won the most seats (27), the first time a nationalist party had done so, ahead of the DUP (25) and Alliance (17). The Executive is formed by the parties in proportion to their seats, and the First Minister and deputy First Minister, from the largest parties on each side, hold equal power.
- Sinn Féin27
- DUP25
- Alliance17
- UUP9
- SDLP8
- Independent2
- TUV1
- People Before Profit1
First preferences in Belfast West, May 2022
44,440 of 68,727 voters turned out, 64.7%, 6th of 18 (Northern Ireland 63.6%). The quota for five seats was 7,278. Only Danny Baker passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats. Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit) was 6th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Frank McCoubrey (DUP), 5th on first preferences.
Assembly: same source as Councillors, above. Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), candidates and who was elected, 5 May 2022, all 18 constituencies; first preferences and turnout: Electoral Office for Northern Ireland result sheets (Crown copyright, OGL v3.0); constituencies: ONS Westminster constituencies, December 2022 boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Metropolitan Lisburn is split between 2 constituencies
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result. Westminster elections are first past the post, so these have vote shares.
39,743 votes for candidates · majority 15,961
Sinn Féin, MP since 9 June 2011.
turnout in July 2024: 39,743 votes from 75,346 registered voters. Northern Ireland: 57%.
Majority 15,961 of 39,743 votes (40.2%): wider than in 94% of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
Lagan Valley
49,081 votes for candidates · majority 2,959
Alliance, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 49,081 votes from 82,201 registered voters. Northern Ireland: 57%.
Majority 2,959 of 49,081 votes (6%): the 4th-narrowest of Northern Ireland’s 18.
On more than one ballot
- Assembly 2022 · Belfast West: not elected
- Council 2023 · Collin: not elected
- Westminster 2024 · Belfast West: not elected, 161 votes
- Council 2023 · Collin: not elected
- Westminster 2024 · Belfast West: not elected, 451 votes
- Council 2023 · Collin: not elected
- Westminster 2024 · Belfast West: not elected, 1,077 votes
- Assembly 2022 · Belfast West: not elected
- Westminster 2024 · Belfast West: not elected, 4,304 votes
- Assembly 2022 · Lagan Valley: not elected
- Council 2023 · Lisburn North: elected
- Assembly 2022 · Belfast West: not elected
- Westminster 2024 · Belfast West: not elected, 904 votes
- Assembly 2022 · Belfast West: not elected
- Council 2023 · Lisburn North: not elected
- Assembly 2022 · Lagan Valley: not elected
- Westminster 2024 · Lagan Valley: not elected, 2,186 votes
- Assembly 2022 · Lagan Valley: not elected
- Council 2023 · Lisburn North: elected
- Assembly 2022 · Belfast West: not elected
- Westminster 2024 · Belfast West: not elected, 4,318 votes
- Assembly 2022 · Lagan Valley: elected
- Westminster 2024 · Lagan Valley: not elected, 11,157 votes
- Assembly 2022 · Lagan Valley: elected
- Westminster 2024 · Lagan Valley: elected, 18,618 votes
12 people stood for more than one of Metropolitan Lisburn’s three tiers between 2022 and 2024.
Turnout, July 2024
Votes cast over the electorate, Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies (average 57%).
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate. Other ballots: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0).
An average rates bill of £1,081 in Belfast
The 2nd-lowest average of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils for 2026–27.
Where an average bill goes
Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, not council tax: the home’s capital value (what it would have sold for in January 2005) times the rate poundage. In Belfast for 2026–27 that’s 1.0051p in the pound, so the average bill of £1,081 is a home valued at about £108,000. The council sets the district rate (0.4492p, the 6th-lowest of the 11) and the Executive the regional rate (0.5559p, the same everywhere). This year the district rate rose 4.5% and the regional rate 5%.
Rates paid per home since 2020–21
Rates paid per home in Belfast rose from £842 in 2020–21 to £1,032 in 2025–26, 23%, against 24% across Northern Ireland. The rates also pay for water and sewerage; there is no separate water bill. Housing Benefit and Rate Relief cover some or all of a bill on a low income, and Lone Pensioner Allowance takes 20% off for people 70 or over living alone.
2026–27 bill by the home’s 2005 value
Homes valued over £400,000 pay on £400,000. Land & Property Services publishes every home’s capital value.
Rates bills in Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Average domestic rates bill per home, 2026–27 (2025–26 payments at 2026–27 poundages).
Land & Property Services, domestic rates paid by council area 2020–21 to 2025–26; Department of Finance rate poundages (Open Government Licence v3.0). Not available as open data: what each council spends by service.
Having a say in how Metropolitan Lisburn is run
It takes about five minutes online; in Northern Ireland you need photo ID to vote at a polling station.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors, its MLAs and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗Potholes and broken pavements go to DfI Roads, not the council: nidirect has the form.
nidirect ↗Search applications near you on the Northern Ireland Planning Portal; commenting needs a free account.
nidirect ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
belfastcity.gov.uk ↗The council’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership holds public meetings with the local police.
belfastcity.gov.uk ↗Polling stations, postal votes and the free Electoral Identity Card.
Electoral Office for NI ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council and Assembly candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Metropolitan Lisburn is run
Which council runs Metropolitan Lisburn?
Metropolitan Lisburn is run by Belfast City Council, one of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils. There is no county or town council; schools, health, roads and housing are run by the Executive’s departments and agencies.
Who controls Belfast City Council?
No party has a majority. As elected in May 2023, Sinn Féin 22 · DUP 14 · Alliance 11 · SDLP 5 · Green 3 · UUP 2 · Independent 1 · People Before Profit 1 · TUV 1 of 60 seats. Top posts are shared among the parties by size.
Who are Metropolitan Lisburn’s councillors?
Metropolitan Lisburn is in 2 district electoral areas. Collin elected Caoimhín McCann (Sinn Féin), Clíodhna Nic Bhranair (Sinn Féin), Joe Duffy (Sinn Féin), Matt Garrett (Sinn Féin), Michael Collins (People Before Profit), Seanna Walsh (Sinn Féin); Lisburn North elected Gary Hynds (Independent), Jonathan Craig (DUP), Nicholas Trimble (UUP), Nicola Parker (Alliance), Pat Catney (SDLP), Paul Burke (Sinn Féin), all in May 2023.
Who is the MP for Metropolitan Lisburn?
Metropolitan Lisburn is split between 2 constituencies: Belfast West (Paul Maskey, Sinn Féin) and Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood, Alliance).
Is Belfast West a marginal seat?
No. The 2024 majority was 40.2% of votes cast, the 1st-widest of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
Who are the MLAs for Metropolitan Lisburn?
In May 2022 Belfast West elected Aisling Reilly (Sinn Féin), Danny Baker (Sinn Féin), Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit), Pat Sheehan (Sinn Féin) and Órlaithí Flynn (Sinn Féin). Part of Metropolitan Lisburn is in Lagan Valley. A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so check the Assembly’s website for who sits now.
Is there council tax in Metropolitan Lisburn?
No. Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, based on the home’s value in 2005; the average bill in Belfast is about £1,081 a year for 2026–27, and it includes water.
How much are rates on a £100,000 home in Metropolitan Lisburn?
A home valued at £100,000 in January 2005 pays £1,005 a year in 2026–27: £449 to the council and £556 to the Executive.
How many candidates stood in Metropolitan Lisburn in 2023?
13 candidates stood for 6 seats in Collin and 9 candidates stood for 6 seats in Lisburn North.
When are the next elections in Metropolitan Lisburn?
The next council and Assembly elections are both due in May 2027. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
Sources: NISRA Census 2021 data zones and ONS constituency boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates and results (CC BY 4.0) · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · Land & Property Services and Department of Finance domestic rates (OGL v3.0). Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.