Photo: John Welford · CC BY-SA 2.0Ely and East Cambridgeshire was decided by 495 votes in 2024
Ely is run by East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, with Ely parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on East Cambridgeshire District Council. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Cambridgeshire County Council. Its MP is Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat), member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire.
£2,480
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Ely’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on East Cambridgeshire District Council
The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 14 of its 28 seats as elected, one short of the 15 needed. The Conservatives hold 14. 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 ↓
A close seat
Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat) won Ely and East Cambridgeshire by 495 votes in July 2024, 0.95% of votes cast: the 18th-narrowest result of 543 in England. Parliament ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Ely is £2,480 for 2026–27; East Cambridgeshire District Council keeps 6% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 53% 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 on Ely’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 15 of East Cambridgeshire’s 28 or 31 of Cambridgeshire’s 61 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative14
- Liberal Democrat14
Latest election: May 2023.
- 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
Ely 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 Ely’s residents · Band D precept £110
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 Ely, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierEly parish council
- 2East Cambridgeshire District Council3 wards · 7 councillorsRoss David TrentChristine WhelanChristine ColbertRobert PittMary Helen WadeKathrin Julia HoltzmannAlison WhelanChika Akinwale
- 3Cambridgeshire County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsChristine WhelanAlison Whelan
- 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 CommonsEly and East Cambridgeshire
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.
7 councillors for 3 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.
- Ross David TrentLiberal Democrat · April 2024 · by-election
- Christine WhelanLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Christine ColbertLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Robert PittLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Mary Helen WadeLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Kathrin Julia HoltzmannLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Alison WhelanLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Chika AkinwaleLiberal Democrat · May 2023
Show as a table, with Cambridgeshire County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ely Westall in Ely · 9,869 residents3 seats · April 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Ross David Trentby-electionChristine WhelanChristine ColbertRobert Pitt | April 2024, May 2023 |
| Ely Eastmostly in Ely · 5,523 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Mary Helen WadeKathrin Julia Holtzmann | May 2023 |
| Ely Northmostly in Ely · 3,793 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Alison WhelanChika Akinwale | May 2023 |
Cambridgeshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ely South EDall in Ely · 15,392 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Christine Whelan | May 2025 |
| Ely North EDmostly in Ely · 3,793 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Alison Whelan | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. East Cambridgeshire 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).
East Cambridgeshire council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Ely, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
3 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Ely’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗9,236 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
3,503 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
2,969 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.
Ely is in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Ely).
52,369 votes for candidates · majority 495
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 52,369 votes from 79,112 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 495 of 52,369 votes (0.95%): the 18th-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.
Ely’s Band D council tax is £2,480 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
East Cambridgeshire District Council keeps £142.14 of a Band D bill (6%); the rest goes to the Ely 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
East Cambridgeshire’s Band D bill has risen 53% in ten years, from £1,623.91 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £459.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Ely, 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
| East Cambridgeshire + Cambridgeshire | Ely’s councils | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £421 | £417 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £170 | £224 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £43 | £28 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £42 | £39 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £182 | £135 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £17 | £27 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £19 | £38 | £26 |
| Public health | £51 | £56 | £78 |
| Running the council | £36 | £40 | £59 |
| Other | £22 | £7 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,001 | £1,013 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: East Cambridgeshire 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 Ely 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.
eastcambs.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
eastcambs.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Ely is run
Which council runs Ely?
Ely is run by East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Ely have a town council?
Yes: Ely has its own parish-tier council (Ely parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £110 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Ely?
Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, which covers Ely.
How many councillors does Ely have?
7 ward councillors represent Ely’s 3 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Ely?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Ely’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Ely?
Band D council tax in Ely is £2,480 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls East Cambridgeshire District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 14 · Conservative 14 of 28 seats; a majority needs 15. 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 2023 council election in Ely?
In Ely’s wards on 4 May 2023, Liberal Democrat 7 of the 7 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 47.9%.
Is Ely and East Cambridgeshire a marginal seat?
Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat) won it by 495 votes in July 2024, 0.95% of votes cast: the 18th-narrowest result of 543 in England.
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.