Photo: Linda Spashett, Storye book · CC BY 3.0No party holds a majority on Darlington Borough Council
Merrybent is run by Darlington Borough Council, with Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Darlington Borough Council. Its MP is Lola McEvoy (Labour), member for Darlington.
£2,504
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Merrybent’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Darlington Borough Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 23 of its 50 seats as elected, 3 short of the 26 needed. The Conservatives hold 15, the Greens 7, the Liberal Democrats 3, independents 1 and Reform UK 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Merrybent is £2,504 for 2026–27; Darlington Borough Council keeps 82% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 58% 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 26 of Darlington’s 50 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour23
- Conservative15
- Green7
- Liberal Democrat3
- Independent1
- Reform UK1
Latest election: May 2023.
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 Merrybent
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 Merrybent’s residents · Band D precept £18
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 Merrybent, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierLow Coniscliffe and Merrybent parish council
- 2Darlington Borough Council1 ward · 2 councillorsGerald Garfield LeePaul Crudass
- 3Mayor of Tees Valley Combined AuthorityTees Valley Combined Authority · elected May 2024Ben Houchen
- 4Police and crime commissionerDurham Constabulary · elected May 2024Joy Allen
- 5House of CommonsDarlington
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.
- Gerald Garfield LeeConservative · May 2023
- Paul CrudassConservative · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heighington & Coniscliffe10% in Merrybent · 478 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Gerald Garfield LeePaul Crudass | May 2023 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Darlington 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).
Darlington council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Merrybent, 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 Merrybent’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,874 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.
Merrybent is in Darlington constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Merrybent).
42,378 votes for candidates · majority 2,298
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 42,378 votes from 70,672 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 2,298 of 42,378 votes (5.4%): the 105th-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.
Merrybent’s Band D council tax is £2,504 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Darlington Borough Council keeps £2,056.87 of a Band D bill (82%); the rest goes to the Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent parish council, the Durham police and crime commissioner and the Durham Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Darlington’s Band D bill has risen 58% in ten years, from £1,579.21 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £588.38 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent, 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
| Darlington | Merrybent’s councils | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £510 | £443 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £384 | £394 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £59 | £48 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £31 | £36 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £118 | £125 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £68 | £65 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £13 | £23 | £26 |
| Public health | £103 | £116 | £78 |
| Running the council | £85 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £-15 | £33 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,356 | £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 Merrybent 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.
darlington.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
darlington.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Merrybent is run
Which council runs Merrybent?
Merrybent is run by Darlington Borough Council.
Does Merrybent have a town council?
Yes: Merrybent has its own parish-tier council (Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £18 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Merrybent?
Lola McEvoy (Labour) is the MP for Darlington, which covers Merrybent.
How many councillors does Merrybent have?
2 ward councillors represent Merrybent’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Merrybent?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Merrybent’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Merrybent?
Band D council tax in Merrybent is £2,504 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Darlington Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 23 · Conservative 15 · Green 7 · Liberal Democrat 3 · Independent 1 · Reform UK 1 of 50 seats; a majority needs 26. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2023 council election in Merrybent?
In Merrybent’s wards on 4 May 2023, Conservative 2 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 53.4%.
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.