Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0Reform UK holds a majority on Durham County Council
Stanley is run by Durham County Council, with Stanley parish council for local matters. Reform UK has a majority on Durham County Council. Its MP is Luke Akehurst (Labour), member for North Durham.
How Stanley’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Durham County Council
Reform UK holds a majority on Durham County Council: 63 of its 98 seats as elected. The Liberal Democrats hold 15, independents 12, Labour 5, the Greens 2 and the Conservatives 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Stanley is £2,622 for 2026–27; Durham County Council keeps 79% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 51% 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
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 50 of County Durham’s 98 seats to run the council alone.
- Reform UK63
- Liberal Democrat15
- Independent12
- Labour5
- Green2
- Conservative1
Latest election: May 2025.
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 Stanley
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 Stanley’s residents · Band D precept £122
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: Kim McGuinness (Labour and Co-operative), 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 Stanley, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierStanley parish council
- 2Durham County Council2 wards · 4 councillorsChristine BlatchfordDavid Stanley WaltonJohn Michael CookAaron Hillam
- 3Mayor of North East Combined AuthorityNorth East Combined Authority · elected May 2024Kim McGuinness
- 4Police and crime commissionerDurham Constabulary · elected May 2024Joy Allen
- 5House of CommonsNorth Durham
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.
4 councillors for 2 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.
- Christine BlatchfordReform UK · May 2025
- David Stanley WaltonReform UK · May 2025
- John Michael CookReform UK · May 2025
- Aaron HillamReform UK · May 2025
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanleymostly in Stanley · 9,847 residents2 seats · May 2025 | 2 | Christine BlatchfordDavid Stanley Walton | May 2025 |
| Craghead & South Moormostly in Stanley · 9,576 residents2 seats · May 2025 | 2 | John Michael CookAaron Hillam | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Durham County 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).
County Durham council election, May 2025
Results in the wards that make up Stanley, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
2 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
- 19 November 2026Council by-election, Craghead & South Moor (County Durham)2 candidates: Mark Taylor (Reform UK), Les Timbey (Labour)
4,562 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
4,016 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.
Stanley is in North Durham constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Stanley).
41,565 votes for candidates · majority 5,873
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 41,565 votes from 73,226 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,873 of 41,565 votes (14.1%): wider than in 51% 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.
Stanley’s Band D council tax is £2,622 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Durham County Council keeps £2,071.11 of a Band D bill (79%); the rest goes to the Stanley parish council, the Durham police and crime commissioner and the Durham Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 2009
County Durham’s Band D bill has risen 51% in ten years, from £1,735.37 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £1,567.12 in 2009–10.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Stanley, 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
| County Durham | Stanley’s councils | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £415 | £443 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £371 | £394 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £37 | £48 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £34 | £36 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £130 | £125 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £73 | £65 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £28 | £23 | £26 |
| Public health | £125 | £116 | £78 |
| Running the council | £53 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £60 | £33 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,325 | £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 Stanley 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.
durham.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
durham.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Stanley is run
Which council runs Stanley?
Stanley is run by Durham County Council.
Does Stanley have a town council?
Yes: Stanley has its own parish-tier council (Stanley parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £122 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Stanley?
Luke Akehurst (Labour) is the MP for North Durham, which covers Stanley.
How many councillors does Stanley have?
4 ward councillors represent Stanley’s 2 wards.
When are the next elections in Stanley?
The next poll is on 19 November 2026: Council by-election, Craghead & South Moor (County Durham).
How much is council tax in Stanley?
Band D council tax in Stanley is £2,622 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Durham County Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 63 of 98 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2025 council election in Stanley?
In Stanley’s wards on 1 May 2025, Reform UK 4 of the 4 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 60.2%.
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.