Photo: Barry Hunter · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Reading Borough Council
Caversham is run by Reading Borough Council. Labour has a majority on Reading Borough Council. Its MP is Matt Rodda (Labour), member for Reading Central.
£2,613
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Caversham’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Reading Borough Council
Labour holds a majority on Reading Borough Council: 29 of its 49 seats as elected. The Greens hold 12, the Conservatives 5 and the Liberal Democrats 3. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Caversham’s wards, the Conservatives took 26.7%, Labour took 26.7% and the Greens took 24.4% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Conservatives had 27.8%. How Caversham has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Caversham is £2,613 for 2026–27; Reading Borough Council keeps 85% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 59% in ten years, against England’s 56%. Council money ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
Who holds the seats
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of Reading’s 49 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour29
- Green12
- Conservative5
- Liberal Democrat3
Latest election: May 2026.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
The councils that run Caversham
One council runs every main service here.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
All of Caversham is unparished: there is no parish or town council, so the council runs local matters itself and no parish precept is added to the bill.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Caversham, from the most recent elections.
- 1Reading Borough Council4 wards · 12 councillorsLabour 7 · Conservative 4 · Green 1 · all 12
- 2Police and crime commissionerThames Valley Police · elected May 2024Matthew Barber
- 3House of CommonsReading Central
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
12 councillors for 4 wards
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- Jacopo LanzoniLabour · May 2026
- Matt YeoLabour · May 2024
- Jan GavinLabour · May 2023
- Alex SmithConservative · May 2026
- Daya Pal SinghLabour · May 2024
- Stephen James GossConservative · May 2023
- Isobel BallsdonConservative · May 2026
- Saadia SaadatConservative · May 2026
- Jenny McGrotherLabour · May 2024
- David Graham ClarkeGreen · May 2026
- Richard DaviesLabour · May 2024
- Ama AsareLabour · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cavershamall in Caversham · 11,407 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Jacopo LanzoniMatt YeoJan Gavin | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Emmer Greenall in Caversham · 9,567 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Alex SmithDaya Pal SinghStephen James Goss | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Caversham Heightsall in Caversham · 9,533 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024 | 3 | Isobel BallsdonSaadia SaadatJenny McGrother | May 2026, May 2024 |
| Thames32% in Caversham · 2,531 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | David Graham ClarkeRichard DaviesAma Asare | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Reading Borough Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
Labour led each vote to 2024; the Conservatives led in 2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Caversham’s wards at each scheduled council election since 2021. A gap is a year with no election here.
Seats won at each election
Show as a table
| Party | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 9.3% | 14.3% | 15.6% | 24.4% |
| Labour | 45.2% | 44.8% | 46.8% | 26.7% |
| Liberal Democrat | 10.6% | 10.1% | 9.3% | 7.2% |
| Conservative | 34.9% | 30.7% | 27.8% | 26.7% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 14.8% |
In 2026, the Conservatives won 3, the Greens won 1 and Labour won 1 of the 5 seats up in Caversham’s wards.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Where a ward elects several councillors at once, each voter has that many votes; all of them count here.
Reading council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Caversham, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
4 wards voted. Reading elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Caversham’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,748 votes for candidates
4,111 votes for candidates
8,654 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Every ward’s result (1 more)
2,636 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Caversham is in Reading Central constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Caversham).
45,291 votes for candidates · majority 12,637
Labour, MP since 8 June 2017.
turnout in July 2024: 45,291 votes from 73,600 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 12,637 of 45,291 votes (27.9%): wider than in 82% of England’s 543 constituencies.
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.
Caversham’s Band D council tax is £2,613 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Reading Borough Council keeps £2,223.18 of a Band D bill (85%); the rest goes to the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner and the Berkshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Reading’s Band D bill has risen 59% in ten years, from £1,647.82 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £607.50 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Reading, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Berkshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £1,800.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Berkshire
| Reading | Caversham’s councils | Berkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £416 | £465 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £363 | £286 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £25 | £37 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £69 | £46 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £114 | £116 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £33 | £20 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £6 | £17 | £26 |
| Public health | £75 | £56 | £78 |
| Running the council | £58 | £55 | £59 |
| Other | £13 | £2 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,170 | £1,101 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Berkshire and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Caversham is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
reading.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
reading.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Caversham is run
Does Caversham have a town council?
No. Caversham is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Caversham?
Matt Rodda (Labour) is the MP for Reading Central, which covers Caversham.
How many councillors does Caversham have?
12 ward councillors represent Caversham’s 4 wards.
When are the next elections in Caversham?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Caversham’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Caversham?
Band D council tax in Caversham is £2,613 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Reading Borough Council?
Labour has a majority: 29 of 49 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Caversham?
In Caversham’s wards on 7 May 2026, Conservative 3 · Green 1 · Labour 1 of the 5 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 26.7%.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence 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.