Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Amber Valley Borough Council
Belper is run by Amber Valley Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council, with Belper parish council for local matters. Labour has a majority on Amber Valley Borough Council. Reform UK has a majority on Derbyshire County Council. Most of Belper is in Mid Derbyshire (MP Jonathan Davies, Labour); 2% of residents are in Amber Valley (MP Linsey Farnsworth, Labour).
£2,436
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Belper’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Amber Valley Borough Council
Labour holds a majority on Amber Valley Borough Council: 23 of its 42 seats as elected. The Greens hold 7, the Conservatives 7, Reform UK 2, Belper Independents 2 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Derbyshire changed hands in 2025
Derbyshire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (43 of 64 seats in 2021) to a Reform UK majority at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 41 of 64 seats. Derbyshire ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Belper is £2,437 for 2026–27; Amber Valley Borough Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 50% 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 Belper’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 22 of Amber Valley’s 42 or 33 of Derbyshire’s 64 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour23
- Conservative7
- Green7
- Belper Independents2
- Reform UK2
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK41+41
- Conservative12−31
- Green3+2
- Labour3−13
- Liberal Democrat3−1
- Independent2+2
Change against the council before the 1 May 2025 election.
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.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Belper has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
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.
98% of Belper’s residents · Band D precept £117
The parish council for the part of Belper inside Denby parish.
Who runs Belper: same source as Who runs Belper, above.
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Claire Ward (Labour and Co-operative), elected May 2024
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.
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 Belper, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsBelper parish councilDenby parish council
- 2Amber Valley Borough Council4 wards · 10 councillorsLabour 4 · Green 3 · Conservative 3 · Belper Independents 2 · all 12
- 3Derbyshire County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsGez KinsellaEmma Louise Monkman
- 4Mayor of East Midlands Combined County AuthorityEast Midlands Combined County Authority · elected May 2024Claire Ward
- 5Police and crime commissionerDerbyshire Constabulary · elected May 2024Nicolle Ndiweni
- 6House of CommonsSplit between 2 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.
10 councillors for 4 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.
- Tracey HillLabour · May 2023
- John PorterLabour · May 2023
- Fay AtkinsonBelper Independents · May 2023
- Emma Louise MonkmanLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Ben BellamyBelper Independents · May 2023
- Gez KinsellaGreen · May 2023
- Jamie WallsGreen · May 2023
- Bess SaundersGreen · October 2026 · by-election
- Matt MurrayConservative · May 2025 · by-election
- Linsey FarnsworthLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Trevor AinsworthConservative · May 2023
- Julie WhitmoreConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Derbyshire County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belper Eastall in Belper · 10,276 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Tracey HillJohn PorterFay Atkinson | May 2023 |
| Belper Northmostly in Belper · 4,851 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Emma Louise MonkmanBen Bellamy | May 2023 |
| Belper Southmostly in Belper · 3,475 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Gez KinsellaJamie Walls | May 2023 |
| Kilburn, Denby, Holbrook & Horsley6% in Belper · 474 residents3 seats · October 2026, May 2025, May 2023 | 3 | Bess Saundersby-electionMatt Murrayby-electionLinsey FarnsworthTrevor AinsworthJulie Whitmore | October 2026, May 2025, May 2023 |
Derbyshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Belper & Holbrook EDmostly in Belper · 14,225 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Gez Kinsella | May 2025 |
| North Belper EDmostly in Belper · 4,851 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Emma Louise Monkman | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Amber Valley 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).
Amber Valley council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Belper, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
4 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Belper’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗9,121 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
4,133 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
2,746 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Every ward’s result (1 more)
7,715 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Belper is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
98% of Belper’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 68% (England 60%).
Majority 1,878 of 47,543 votes (4%): the 78th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
2% of Belper’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 59% (England 60%).
Majority 3,554 of 42,531 votes (8.4%): the 154th-narrowest of 543 in England.
47,543 votes for candidates · majority 1,878
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 47,543 votes from 69,917 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 1,878 of 47,543 votes (4%): the 78th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Amber Valley
42,531 votes for candidates · majority 3,554
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 42,531 votes from 71,546 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,554 of 42,531 votes (8.4%): the 154th-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.
Belper’s Band D council tax is £2,437 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Amber Valley Borough Council keeps £203.77 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Belper parish council, Derbyshire County Council, the Derbyshire police and crime commissioner and the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Amber Valley’s Band D bill has risen 50% in ten years, from £1,609.30 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £597.38 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Belper, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Derbyshire’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 Derbyshire
| Amber Valley + Derbyshire | Belper’s councils | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £477 | £450 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £228 | £260 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £34 | £30 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £14 | £24 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £122 | £125 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £57 | £43 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £17 | £22 | £26 |
| Public health | £72 | £79 | £78 |
| Running the council | £57 | £60 | £59 |
| Other | £20 | £28 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,097 | £1,120 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Amber Valley per its residents plus Derbyshire per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Derbyshire 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 Belper 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.
ambervalley.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
ambervalley.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Belper is run
Which council runs Belper?
Belper is run by Amber Valley Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Belper have a town council?
Yes: Belper has its own parish-tier council (Belper parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £117 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Belper?
Belper is split between 2 constituencies: Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies, Labour) and Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Belper have?
10 ward councillors represent Belper’s 4 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Belper?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Belper’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Belper?
Band D council tax in Belper is £2,436 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Amber Valley Borough Council?
Labour has a majority: 23 of 42 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Derbyshire County Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 41 of 64 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Belper?
In Belper’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 4 · Green 2 · Conservative 2 · Belper Independents 2 of the 10 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 31.2%.
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.