Photo: Colin Kinnear · CC BY-SA 2.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Westmorland and Furness Council
Penrith is run by Westmorland and Furness Council, with Penrith parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Westmorland and Furness Council. Its MP is Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour), member for Penrith and Solway.
£2,542
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Penrith’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Westmorland and Furness Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Westmorland and Furness Council: 36 of its 65 seats as elected. Labour holds 15, the Conservatives 10, independents 2, the Greens 1 and Reform UK 1. Who’s in charge ↓
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 33 of Westmorland and Furness’s 65 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat36
- Labour15
- Conservative10
- Independent2
- Green1
- Reform UK1
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 Penrith
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 Penrith’s residents · Band D precept £85
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗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 Penrith, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierPenrith parish council
- 2Westmorland and Furness Council2 wards · 4 councillorsBarbara JaysonVirginia Christie TaylorMike EylesPatricia Anne BellMark Brian Rudhall
- 3Police and crime commissionerCumbria Constabulary · elected May 2024David Allen
- 4House of CommonsPenrith and Solway
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.
- Barbara JaysonLiberal Democrat · March 2026 · by-election
- Virginia Christie TaylorLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Mike EylesLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Patricia Anne BellLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Mark Brian RudhallLiberal Democrat · May 2022
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith Southall in Penrith · 9,421 residents2 seats · March 2026, May 2022 | 2 | Barbara Jaysonby-electionVirginia Christie TaylorMike Eyles | March 2026, May 2022 |
| Penrith Northall in Penrith · 7,284 residents2 seats · May 2022 | 2 | Patricia Anne BellMark Brian Rudhall | May 2022 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Westmorland and Furness 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).
Westmorland and Furness council election, May 2022
Results in the wards that make up Penrith, 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.
No election is scheduled yet for Penrith’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,670 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
4,261 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.
Penrith is in Penrith and Solway constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Penrith).
49,281 votes for candidates · majority 5,257
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 49,281 votes from 77,935 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,257 of 49,281 votes (10.7%): the 202nd-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.
Penrith’s Band D council tax is £2,542 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Westmorland and Furness Council keeps £2,014.73 of a Band D bill (79%); the rest goes to the Penrith parish council, the Cumbria PFCC - Police and the Cumbria PFCC - Fire and Rescue Authority.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Penrith, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Cumbria
| Westmorland and Furness | Penrith’s councils | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £540 | £540 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £241 | £241 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £92 | £92 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £24 | £24 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £180 | £180 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £38 | £38 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £60 | £60 | £26 |
| Public health | £43 | £43 | £78 |
| Running the council | £71 | £71 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £0 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,290 | £1,290 | £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. Cumbria 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 Penrith 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.
westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Penrith is run
Which council runs Penrith?
Penrith is run by Westmorland and Furness Council.
Does Penrith have a town council?
Yes: Penrith has its own parish-tier council (Penrith parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £85 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Penrith?
Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour) is the MP for Penrith and Solway, which covers Penrith.
How many councillors does Penrith have?
4 ward councillors represent Penrith’s 2 wards.
When are the next elections in Penrith?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Penrith’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Penrith?
Band D council tax in Penrith is £2,542 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Westmorland and Furness Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 36 of 65 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2022 council election in Penrith?
In Penrith’s wards on 5 May 2022, Liberal Democrat 4 of the 4 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 49.3%.
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.