Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on South Derbyshire District Council
Melbourne is run by South Derbyshire District Council and Derbyshire County Council, with Melbourne parish council for local matters. Labour has a majority on South Derbyshire District Council. Reform UK has a majority on Derbyshire County Council. Its MP is Samantha Niblett (Labour), member for South Derbyshire.
£2,363
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Melbourne’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on South Derbyshire District Council
Labour holds a majority on South Derbyshire District Council: 20 of its 36 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 12, the Liberal Democrats 2 and independents 2. 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 Melbourne is £2,363 for 2026–27; South Derbyshire District Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 47% 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 Melbourne’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 19 of South Derbyshire’s 36 or 33 of Derbyshire’s 64 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour20
- Conservative12
- Independent2
- Liberal Democrat2
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
Melbourne 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.
100% of Melbourne’s residents · Band D precept £57
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 Melbourne, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierMelbourne parish council
- 2South Derbyshire District Council1 ward · 2 councillorsMatthew John GotheridgeMartin FitzpatrickJane Dunster Carroll
- 3Derbyshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorCharlotte Hill
- 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 CommonsSouth Derbyshire
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.
- Matthew John GotheridgeConservative · May 2024 · by-election
- Martin FitzpatrickConservative · May 2023
- Jane Dunster CarrollLabour · May 2023
Show as a table, with Derbyshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbournemostly in Melbourne · 4,860 residents2 seats · May 2024, May 2023 | 2 | Matthew John Gotheridgeby-electionMartin FitzpatrickJane Dunster Carroll | May 2024, May 2023 |
Derbyshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne & Woodville EDmostly in Melbourne · 4,860 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Charlotte Hill | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. South Derbyshire District 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).
South Derbyshire council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Melbourne, 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 Melbourne’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,337 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.
Melbourne is in South Derbyshire constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Melbourne).
45,737 votes for candidates · majority 4,168
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 45,737 votes from 73,714 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 4,168 of 45,737 votes (9.1%): the 168th-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.
Melbourne’s Band D council tax is £2,363 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
South Derbyshire District Council keeps £190.78 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Melbourne parish council, Derbyshire County Council, the Derbyshire police and crime commissioner and the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
South Derbyshire’s Band D bill has risen 47% in ten years, from £1,588.52 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £591.75 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Melbourne, 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
| South Derbyshire + Derbyshire | Melbourne’s councils | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £477 | £450 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £228 | £260 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £31 | £30 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £18 | £24 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £145 | £125 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £47 | £43 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £26 | £22 | £26 |
| Public health | £72 | £79 | £78 |
| Running the council | £57 | £60 | £59 |
| Other | £3 | £28 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,104 | £1,120 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: South Derbyshire 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 Melbourne 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.
southderbyshire.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
southderbyshire.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Melbourne is run
Which council runs Melbourne?
Melbourne is run by South Derbyshire District Council and Derbyshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Melbourne have a town council?
Yes: Melbourne has its own parish-tier council (Melbourne parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £57 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Melbourne?
Samantha Niblett (Labour) is the MP for South Derbyshire, which covers Melbourne.
How many councillors does Melbourne have?
2 ward councillors represent Melbourne’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Melbourne?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Melbourne’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Melbourne?
Band D council tax in Melbourne is £2,363 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls South Derbyshire District Council?
Labour has a majority: 20 of 36 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 Melbourne?
In Melbourne’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 1 · Conservative 1 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 42.1%.
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.