Photo: Meirion · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Cheshire West and Chester Council
Chester is run by Cheshire West and Chester Council and Flintshire County Council. Labour has a majority on Cheshire West and Chester Council. No party holds a majority on Flintshire County Council. Chester is split between 3 parliamentary constituencies.
£2,479
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Chester’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Cheshire West and Chester Council
Labour holds a majority on Cheshire West and Chester Council: 39 of its 70 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 22, independents 6, the Greens 2 and the Liberal Democrats 1. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2023 vote
Across Chester’s wards, Labour took 55.1%, the Conservatives took 26.7% and the Liberal Democrats took 8.4% of votes in May 2023. In 2022, Labour had 53.3%. How Chester has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Chester is £2,485 for 2026–27; Cheshire West and Chester Council keeps 84% 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 on Chester’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 36 of Cheshire West and Chester’s 70 or 33 of Flintshire’s 65 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour39
- Conservative22
- Independent6
- Green2
- Liberal Democrat1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Labour31
- Independent27
- Liberal Democrat4
- Reform UK2
- Conservative1
Latest election: May 2022.
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 Chester
One council runs every main service here.
The parish council for the part of Chester inside Great Boughton parish.
9% of Chester’s residents · Band D precept £35
The parish council for the part of Chester inside Upton-by-Chester parish.
Who runs Chester: same source as Who runs Chester, above.
The parish council for the part of Chester inside Huntington parish.
Who runs Chester: same source as Who runs Chester, above.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
94% of Chester’s residents
Website ↗Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Who runs Chester: same source as Who runs Chester, above.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
70% of Chester’s residents live outside any parish, with no parish council; there, its charter trustees (City of Chester Charter Trustee) keep the ceremonial mayoralty and add £12.60 to a Band D 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 parish to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Chester, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish3 parish councilsGreat Boughton parish councilUpton-by-Chester parish councilHuntington parish council
- 2Council wards9 wards · 20 councillorsLabour 16 · Conservative 4 · Independent 1 · all 21
- 3Police and crime commissionerCheshire Constabulary · elected May 2024Dan Price
- 4Police and crime commissionerNorth Wales Police · elected May 2024Andy Dunbobbin
- 5SeneddFflint Wrecsam · 6 membersSam RowlandsKen SkatesCarrie HarperChristiana EmsleyMarc JonesNigel Williams
- 6House of CommonsSplit between 3 constituencies
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.
20 councillors for 9 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.
- Paul ChamberlainLabour · May 2023
- Katrina KerrLabour · May 2023
- Ben WalkerLabour · May 2023
- Richard Mark BeachamLabour · May 2023
- Gill WatsonLabour · May 2023
- Adam LanganLabour · May 2023
- Sheila LittleLabour · May 2023
- Carol GahanLabour · May 2023
- Alan SmithLabour · May 2023
- Steve CollingsLabour · May 2023
- Elizabeth MacGlashanLabour · May 2023
- Matt CarterLabour · May 2023
- Razia DanielsConservative · May 2023
- Matt BryanLabour · May 2023
- Sherin AkhtarLabour · May 2023
- Alex TateLabour · May 2023
- Thomas Richard LloydLabour · May 2022
- Jason ShallcrossIndependent · May 2022
- Stephen James MosleyConservative · June 2026 · by-election
- Mark WilliamsConservative · May 2023
- Stuart ParkerConservative · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester City & the Garden QuarterCheshire West and Chester · all in Chester · 18,335 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Paul ChamberlainKatrina KerrBen Walker | May 2023 |
| Newton & HooleCheshire West and Chester · all in Chester · 14,784 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Richard Mark BeachamGill WatsonAdam Langan | May 2023 |
| BlaconCheshire West and Chester · all in Chester · 14,084 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Sheila LittleCarol GahanAlan Smith | May 2023 |
| Great BoughtonCheshire West and Chester · all in Chester · 11,006 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Steve CollingsElizabeth MacGlashan | May 2023 |
| Handbridge ParkCheshire West and Chester · all in Chester · 9,424 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Matt CarterRazia Daniels | May 2023 |
| UptonCheshire West and Chester · mostly in Chester · 9,072 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Matt BryanSherin Akhtar | May 2023 |
| LacheCheshire West and Chester · all in Chester · 5,905 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Alex Tate | May 2023 |
| Saltney FerryFlintshire · all in Chester · 5,140 residents2 seats · May 2022 | 2 | Thomas Richard LloydJason Shallcross | May 2022 |
| Christleton & HuntingtonCheshire West and Chester · 43% in Chester · 5,006 residents2 seats · June 2026, May 2023 | 2 | Stephen James Mosleyby-electionMark WilliamsStuart Parker | June 2026, May 2023 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Cheshire West and Chester 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 has led every council vote since 2022
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Chester’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 0% | 7.3% |
| Labour | 53.3% | 55.1% |
| Liberal Democrat | 0% | 8.4% |
| Independent | 40.8% | 1.8% |
| Conservative | 6% | 26.7% |
In 2023, Labour won 15 and the Conservatives won 3 of the 18 seats up in Chester’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.
Cheshire West and Chester council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Chester, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
8 wards voted. Not every seat in the town’s wards was up this time.
No election is scheduled yet for Chester’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗10,329 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
12,520 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
6,553 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Every ward’s result (5 more)
7,637 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
7,402 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
6,260 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,294 votes for candidates
6,835 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.
Chester is split between 3 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 1 December 2022
73% of Chester’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 64% (England 60%).
Majority 11,870 of 44,694 votes (26.6%): wider than in 80% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Conservative, MP since 4 July 2024
22% of Chester’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 71% (England 60%).
Majority 3,057 of 52,486 votes (5.8%): the 113th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Labour, MP since 7 June 2001
6% of Chester’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 57% (England 60%).
44,694 votes for candidates · majority 11,870
Labour, MP since 1 December 2022.
turnout in July 2024: 44,694 votes from 70,215 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 11,870 of 44,694 votes (26.6%): wider than in 80% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Chester South and Eddisbury
52,486 votes for candidates · majority 3,057
Conservative, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 52,486 votes from 74,284 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,057 of 52,486 votes (5.8%): the 113th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Alyn and Deeside
43,392 votes for candidates · majority 8,794
Labour, MP since 7 June 2001.
turnout in July 2024: 43,392 votes from 75,790 registered voters. England: 60%.
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.
Chester’s Band D council tax is £2,485 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Cheshire West and Chester Council keeps £2,076.79 of a Band D bill (84%); the rest goes to the City of Chester Charter Trustee, the Cheshire police and crime commissioner and the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,479 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 2009
Cheshire West and Chester’s Band D bill has risen 59% in ten years, from £1,583.78 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £1,448.23 in 2009–10.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Cheshire West and Chester, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Cheshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,200.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Cheshire
| Cheshire West and Chester | Chester’s councils | Cheshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £604 | £579 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £276 | £302 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £45 | £69 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £54 | £35 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £100 | £101 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £30 | £55 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £35 | £27 | £26 |
| Public health | £59 | £64 | £78 |
| Running the council | £17 | £47 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £6 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,219 | £1,284 | £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. Cheshire 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 Chester 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.
cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Chester is run
Does Chester have a town council?
Parts of it do: Great Boughton parish council, Upton-by-Chester parish council and Huntington parish council.
Who is the MP for Chester?
Chester is split between 3 constituencies: Chester North and Neston (Samantha Dixon, Labour), Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth, Conservative) and Alyn and Deeside (Sir Mark Tami, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Chester have?
20 ward councillors represent Chester’s 9 wards.
When are the next elections in Chester?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Chester’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Chester?
Band D council tax in Chester is £2,479 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Cheshire West and Chester Council?
Labour has a majority: 39 of 70 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Flintshire County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 31 · Independent 27 · Liberal Democrat 4 · Reform UK 2 · Conservative 1 of 65 seats; a majority needs 33.
Who won the 2023 council election in Chester?
In Chester’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 15 · Conservative 3 of the 18 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 55.1%.
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.