Photo: Nigel Thompson · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Hartlepool Borough Council
Greatham is run by Hartlepool Borough Council, with Greatham parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Hartlepool Borough Council. Its MP is Mr Jonathan Brash (Labour), member for Hartlepool.
£2,568
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Greatham’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Hartlepool Borough Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 17 of its 36 seats as elected, 2 short of the 19 needed. Reform UK holds 13, independents 3 and the Conservatives 3. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Greatham’s wards, Reform UK took 46.6%, Labour took 32.6% and the Conservatives took 14.2% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Reform UK had 12.6%. How Greatham has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Greatham is £2,568 for 2026–27; Hartlepool Borough Council keeps 83% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 46% 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.
No party has a majority
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 19 of Hartlepool’s 36 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour17
- Reform UK13
- Conservative3
- Independent3
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 Greatham
One council runs every main service here.
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 Greatham’s residents · Band D precept £11
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Ben Houchen (Conservative), elected May 2024
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
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 Greatham, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierGreatham parish council
- 2Hartlepool Borough Council1 ward · 3 councillorsDave BruceJim LindridgePhilip Holbrook
- 3Mayor of Tees Valley Combined AuthorityTees Valley Combined Authority · elected May 2024Ben Houchen
- 4Police and crime commissionerCleveland Police · elected May 2024Matt Storey
- 5House of CommonsHartlepool
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.
3 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.
- Dave BruceReform UK · May 2026
- Jim LindridgeIndependent · May 2024
- Philip HolbrookLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fens & Greatham13% in Greatham · 851 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Dave BruceJim LindridgePhilip Holbrook | 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. Hartlepool 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).
Who led each council vote, 2021–2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Greatham’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 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6.6% |
| Labour | 26.2% | 48.9% | 41.7% | 29.9% | 32.6% |
| Independent | 46.9% | 0% | 28.2% | 42.5% | 0% |
| Conservative | 23.2% | 51.1% | 25% | 14.9% | 14.2% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 5.1% | 12.6% | 46.6% |
In 2026, Reform UK won 1 of the 1 seats up in Greatham’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.
Hartlepool council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Greatham, 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. Hartlepool elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Greatham’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,629 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Greatham is in Hartlepool constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Greatham).
35,511 votes for candidates · majority 7,698
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 35,511 votes from 71,437 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 7,698 of 35,511 votes (21.7%): wider than in 70% 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.
Greatham’s Band D council tax is £2,568 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Hartlepool Borough Council keeps £2,124.69 of a Band D bill (83%); the rest goes to the Greatham parish council, the Cleveland police and crime commissioner and the Cleveland Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Hartlepool’s Band D bill has risen 46% in ten years, from £1,757.20 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £654.75 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Greatham, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
County Durham’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,300.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with County Durham
| Hartlepool | Greatham’s councils | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £508 | £443 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £560 | £394 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £70 | £48 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £32 | £36 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £132 | £125 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £63 | £65 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £13 | £23 | £26 |
| Public health | £121 | £116 | £78 |
| Running the council | £86 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £33 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,585 | £1,340 | £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. County Durham 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 Greatham 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.
hartlepool.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
hartlepool.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Greatham is run
Which council runs Greatham?
Greatham is run by Hartlepool Borough Council.
Does Greatham have a town council?
Yes: Greatham has its own parish-tier council (Greatham parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £11 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Greatham?
Mr Jonathan Brash (Labour) is the MP for Hartlepool, which covers Greatham.
How many councillors does Greatham have?
3 ward councillors represent Greatham’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Greatham?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Greatham’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Greatham?
Band D council tax in Greatham is £2,568 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Hartlepool Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 17 · Reform UK 13 · Independent 3 · Conservative 3 of 36 seats; a majority needs 19. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Greatham?
In Greatham’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 1 of the 1 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 46.6%.
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.