Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Huntingdonshire District Council
Abbots Ripton is run by Huntingdonshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, with Abbots Ripton parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Huntingdonshire District Council. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Cambridgeshire County Council. Its MP is Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative), member for Huntingdon.
£2,492
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Abbots Ripton’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Huntingdonshire District Council
The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 21 of its 52 seats as elected, 6 short of the 27 needed. The Conservatives hold 15, Reform UK 9, independents 4, the Greens 2 and Labour 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Cambridgeshire changed hands in 2025
Cambridgeshire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from no overall control to a Liberal Democrat majority at the May 2025 election: the Liberal Democrats won 31 of 61 seats. Cambridgeshire ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Abbots Ripton is £2,492 for 2026–27; Huntingdonshire District Council keeps 7% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 56% in ten years, in line with 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 on Abbots Ripton’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 27 of Huntingdonshire’s 52 or 31 of Cambridgeshire’s 61 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat21
- Conservative15
- Reform UK9
- Independent4
- Green2
- Labour1
Latest election: May 2026.
- Liberal Democrat31+9
- Conservative10−17
- Reform UK10+10
- Labour5−4
- Green3+3
- Independent2no change
- St. Neots Independent Group0−1
Change against the council before the 1 May 2025 election.
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.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Abbots Ripton has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
Local matters: allotments, play areas, halls, footpaths and benches; it is consulted on planning and adds a precept to the council tax bill. A town council is a parish council by another name.
100% of Abbots Ripton’s residents · Band D precept £93
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Paul Bristow (Conservative), elected May 2025
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.
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 parish to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Abbots Ripton, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierAbbots Ripton parish council
- 2Huntingdonshire District Council1 ward · 2 councillorsSimon BywaterRoss Ben Martin
- 3Cambridgeshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorCharlotte Ann Lowe
- 4Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined AuthorityCambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority · elected May 2025Paul Bristow
- 5Police and crime commissionerCambridgeshire Constabulary · elected May 2024Darryl Preston
- 6House of CommonsHuntingdon
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.
2 councillors for 1 ward
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.
- Simon BywaterConservative · May 2026
- Ross Ben MartinConservative · May 2026
Show as a table, with Cambridgeshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawtry5% in Abbots Ripton · 312 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Simon BywaterRoss Ben Martin | May 2026 |
Cambridgeshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somersham & Earith ED2% in Abbots Ripton · 312 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Charlotte Ann Lowe | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Huntingdonshire District 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).
Huntingdonshire council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Abbots Ripton, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Abbots Ripton’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,112 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Abbots Ripton is in Huntingdon constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Abbots Ripton).
52,040 votes for candidates · majority 1,499
Conservative, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 52,040 votes from 79,074 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 1,499 of 52,040 votes (2.9%): the 57th-narrowest of 543 in England.
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.
Abbots Ripton’s Band D council tax is £2,492 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Huntingdonshire District Council keeps £170.85 of a Band D bill (7%); the rest goes to the Abbots Ripton parish council, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, the Cambridgeshire police and crime commissioner and the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Huntingdonshire’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,641.12 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £434.25 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Abbots Ripton, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Cambridgeshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,100.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Cambridgeshire
| Huntingdonshire + Cambridgeshire | Abbots Ripton’s councils | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £421 | £417 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £170 | £224 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £36 | £28 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £36 | £39 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £140 | £135 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £28 | £27 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £18 | £38 | £26 |
| Public health | £51 | £56 | £78 |
| Running the council | £49 | £40 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £7 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £948 | £1,013 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Huntingdonshire per its residents plus Cambridgeshire per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Cambridgeshire 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 Abbots Ripton 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.
huntingdonshire.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
huntingdonshire.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Abbots Ripton is run
Which council runs Abbots Ripton?
Abbots Ripton is run by Huntingdonshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Abbots Ripton have a town council?
Yes: Abbots Ripton has its own parish-tier council (Abbots Ripton parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £93 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Abbots Ripton?
Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative) is the MP for Huntingdon, which covers Abbots Ripton.
How many councillors does Abbots Ripton have?
2 ward councillors represent Abbots Ripton’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Abbots Ripton?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Abbots Ripton’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Abbots Ripton?
Band D council tax in Abbots Ripton is £2,492 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Huntingdonshire District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 21 · Conservative 15 · Reform UK 9 · Independent 4 · Green 2 · Labour 1 of 52 seats; a majority needs 27. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Cambridgeshire County Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 31 of 61 seats as elected.
Who won the 2026 council election in Abbots Ripton?
In Abbots Ripton’s wards on 7 May 2026, Conservative 2 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 59.6%.
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.