Photo: Unknown author · Public domainNo party holds a majority on Huntingdonshire District Council
St Ives is run by Huntingdonshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, with St. Ives 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.
£2,601
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How St Ives’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 ↓
The 2026 vote
Across St Ives’s wards, Reform UK took 21.6%, the Liberal Democrats took 21.3% and the Conservatives took 19.9% of votes in May 2026. In 2022, Reform UK had 0%. How St Ives has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in St Ives is £2,601 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 St Ives’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
St Ives 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 St Ives’s residents · Band D precept £202
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 St Ives, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierSt. Ives parish council
- 2Huntingdonshire District Council3 wards · 5 councillorsAlex BulatNic WellsMichael John BurkeShariqa MokbulJulie Elizabeth Kerr
- 3Cambridgeshire County Council3 divisions · 3 councillorsDavid Norman KeaneJulie Elizabeth KerrAlex Bulat
- 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.
5 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.
- Alex BulatLabour and Co-operative · May 2026
- Nic WellsLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Michael John BurkeLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Shariqa MokbulIndependent · May 2026
- Julie Elizabeth KerrIndependent · May 2026
Show as a table, with Cambridgeshire County Council’s 3 divisions (3 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Ives Southmostly in St Ives · 7,220 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Alex BulatNic Wells | May 2026 |
| St Ives Eastall in St Ives · 6,633 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Michael John BurkeShariqa Mokbul | May 2026 |
| St Ives Westall in St Ives · 2,965 residents1 seat · May 2026 | 1 | Julie Elizabeth Kerr | May 2026 |
Cambridgeshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hemingfords & Fenstanton ED39% in St Ives · 7,220 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | David Norman Keane | May 2025 |
| St. Ives North & Wyton EDall in St Ives · 6,633 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Julie Elizabeth Kerr | May 2025 |
| St. Ives South & Needingworth EDall in St Ives · 2,965 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Alex Bulat | 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).
The Conservatives led each vote to 2022; Reform UK led in 2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in St Ives’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 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 1.2% | 8.2% |
| Labour | 12.9% | 17.9% |
| Liberal Democrat | 15.3% | 21.3% |
| Independent | 26.9% | 11.1% |
| Conservative | 43.7% | 19.9% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 21.6% |
In 2026, the Liberal Democrats won 2, independents won 2 and Labour won 1 of the 5 seats up in St Ives’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.
Huntingdonshire council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up St Ives, 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 St Ives’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,956 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
3,658 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,028 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
St Ives is in Huntingdon constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond St Ives).
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.
St Ives’s Band D council tax is £2,601 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 St. Ives 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 St. Ives, 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 | St Ives’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 St Ives 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 St Ives is run
Which council runs St Ives?
St Ives 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 St Ives have a town council?
Yes: St Ives has its own parish-tier council (St. Ives parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £202 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for St Ives?
Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative) is the MP for Huntingdon, which covers St Ives.
How many councillors does St Ives have?
5 ward councillors represent St Ives’s 3 wards, and 3 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in St Ives?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for St Ives’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in St Ives?
Band D council tax in St Ives is £2,601 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 St Ives?
In St Ives’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 2 · Independent 2 · Labour 1 of the 5 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 21.6%.
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.