Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0Órfhlaith Begley won West Tyrone by one of Northern Ireland’s widest margins in 2024
Strabane is run by Derry City and Strabane District Council, its only council: Northern Ireland has one tier of local government. No party holds a majority; Sinn Féin has the most seats, 18 of 40. Its MP is Órfhlaith Begley (Sinn Féin), member for West Tyrone. At Stormont, West Tyrone elects five MLAs: 3 Sinn Féin, 1 SDLP and 1 DUP.
May 2027
Council and Assembly elections are both due.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland ↗How Strabane is run, in four numbers
No party holds a majority
In May 2023 Sinn Féin won the most seats on Derry City and Strabane District Council, 18 of 40, short of the 21 a majority needs. It ran 18 candidates across the council’s seven district electoral areas and 18 were elected. Who’s in charge ↓
Two council areas, twelve councillors
87% of Strabane’s residents live in the Sperrin district electoral area. Sperrin elected 3 Sinn Féin, 2 Independent, 1 DUP and 1 SDLP from 14 candidates; 7 others were not elected. Turnout there was 63%, 12th of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas. Councillors ↓
A wide Westminster margin
Órfhlaith Begley won West Tyrone by 15,917 votes in July 2024, 36.4% of votes cast: the 2nd-widest margin of Northern Ireland’s 18 seats. Turnout was 59%, the 5th-highest in Northern Ireland (average 57%). Parliament ↓
Rates up 25% since 2020–21
The average home in Derry City and Strabane paid £1,070 in rates in 2025–26, 25% more than the £854 of 2020–21 (Northern Ireland: 24%). About 54% of a bill is the council’s district rate; the rest is the Executive’s regional rate, which rose faster this year. Rates ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results, the UK Parliament Members API, and Land & Property Services and Department of Finance rates.
No party holds a majority on Derry City and Strabane District Council
Seats on Derry City and Strabane District Council, as elected in May 2023, and how the other ten councils compare.
- Sinn Féin1818 stood
- SDLP1015 stood
- DUP57 stood
- Independent36 stood
- UUP35 stood
- People Before Profit17 stood
As elected on 18 May 2023, with each party’s candidates.
A party needs 21 of the 40 seats to outvote the rest. No party has that: Sinn Féin is largest with 18. Northern Ireland’s councils share out the chair, deputy chair and committee chairs among the parties in proportion to their seats, so the council is run by several parties together. SDLP is second with 10 seats, from 15 candidates.
Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Seats by party as elected in May 2023, largest party named. Only one of the 11 has a single-party majority.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who was elected at each count. A councillor who stands down is replaced by co-option from the same party.
One council, and Stormont for the rest
Strabane has no county council and no town or parish council: since 2015 Northern Ireland has had 11 councils, each the only council for its area.
Bins and recycling, leisure centres, parks and cemeteries, local planning, building control, environmental health, licensing, tourism and local economic development, and the community plan.
www.derrystrabane.com ↗Its departments run what English county councils do and more: schools (the Education Authority), health and social care, roads and street lighting (DfI Roads), and housing (the Northern Ireland Housing Executive). It also sets the regional rate.
northernireland.gov.uk ↗NI Water supplies water and sewerage (paid for through the rates, not a separate bill), Libraries NI runs the libraries, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland the police, overseen by the Policing Board.
Who to ask
Green: the council. Gold: a Stormont department or one of its agencies. Gray: another public body. The police district shares the council’s boundary, so Derry City and Strabane’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership covers the same ground as the council.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Strabane, from the most recent elections. Sinn Féin’s MPs, West Tyrone’s included, don’t take their seats at Westminster.
- 1Derry City and Strabane District Council2 district electoral areas · 12 councillorsSinn Féin 6 · Independent 2 · DUP 2 · SDLP 1 · UUP 1 · all 12
- 2Northern Ireland AssemblyWest Tyrone · 5 MLAsDaniel McCrossanDeclan McAleerMaolíosa McHughNicola BroganThomas Buchanan
- 3House of CommonsWest Tyrone
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own.
12 councillors for Strabane’s two district electoral areas
- Allan Bresland
- Brian Harte
- Fergal Leonard
- Jason Barr
- Paul 'Gags' Gallagher
- Paul Boggs
- Raymond Barr
Also stood: Carol Gallagher (People Before Profit), Darán Mac Meanman (Aontú), Glen Miller (UUP), Maurice Devenney (DUP), Mel Boyle (Alliance), Patsy Kelly (Independent), Tommy Forbes (SDLP).
- Antaine Ó Fearghail
- Caroline Devine
- Derek Hussey
- Keith Kerrigan
- Ruairí McHugh
Also stood: Adam McGinley (People Before Profit), Andy Patton (Independent), Anne Murray (Alliance), Leza Houston (Aontú), Steven Edwards (SDLP).
Each district electoral area elects five to seven councillors by single transferable vote: voters number the candidates in order, and a candidate who reaches the quota is elected, with spare votes passed on to the next preference. An area can reach beyond the town. A councillor who stands down is replaced by their party (co-option), so the names can change without an election.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who stood and who was elected on 18 May 2023. Democracy Club. First-preference votes and turnout: How Strabane voted ↓
First preferences in Sperrin, May 2023
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 1,477. Elected candidates are in bold.
First-preference share by party
The tick is the party’s share across all 80 areas in 2023.
11,995 of Sperrin’s 19,143 voters turned out, 62.7%, 2nd of Derry City and Strabane’s seven areas (council 56.6%) and 12th of Northern Ireland’s 80 (average 54.7%). Derg turned out 63.3%, 11th of 80. With 11,812 valid votes and seven seats the quota was 1,477. Paul Boggs and Fergal Leonard passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats. Jason Barr (SDLP) was 8th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Maurice Devenney (DUP), 7th on first preferences.
Derg’s first preferences
Quota 1,425 from 8,549 valid votes. Keith Kerrigan and Ruairí McHugh passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: 2023 result sheets and turnout by district electoral area (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Votes are first preferences at the first count.
Who stood, and who was elected
Every candidate for Derry City and Strabane District Council, by party: the light bar is candidates, the solid bar those elected.
Share of candidates elected, Northern Ireland
Parties with 10 or more candidates across all 11 councils.
70 candidates stood for 40 seats across Derry City and Strabane District Council in May 2023, 1.8 for each seat (Northern Ireland: 1.75). By candidates per seat, Sperrin ranked 9th (14 for 7) and Derg ranked 9th (10 for 5) of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas, where 1st is the most contested. Sinn Féin elected 18 of its 18 candidates; SDLP won 10 of 15 and DUP won 5 of 7.
The 2023 council election: same source as Councillors, above. Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0): candidates and who was elected, 18 May 2023, all 80 district electoral areas.
Strabane is in West Tyrone for the Assembly
Five MLAs for each of 18 constituencies, elected by single transferable vote. A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so names may have changed. The Assembly’s constituencies are the Westminster ones as they were before 2024.
Also stood (9): Amy Ferguson (Socialist Party), Barry Brown (Independent), Carol Gallagher (People Before Profit), Ian Marshall (UUP), James Hope (Aontú), Paul 'Gags' Gallagher (Independent), Stephen Donnelly (Alliance), Susan Glass (Green), Trevor Clarke (TUV).
West Tyrone elected 3 Sinn Féin, 1 SDLP and 1 DUP from 14 candidates. Across Northern Ireland Sinn Féin won the most seats (27), the first time a nationalist party had done so, ahead of the DUP (25) and Alliance (17). The Executive is formed by the parties in proportion to their seats, and the First Minister and deputy First Minister, from the largest parties on each side, hold equal power.
- Sinn Féin27
- DUP25
- Alliance17
- UUP9
- SDLP8
- Independent2
- TUV1
- People Before Profit1
First preferences in West Tyrone, May 2022
46,629 of 69,702 voters turned out, 66.9%, 4th of 18 (Northern Ireland 63.6%). The quota for five seats was 7,666. Only Nicola Brogan passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats.
Assembly: same source as Councillors, above. Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), candidates and who was elected, 5 May 2022, all 18 constituencies; first preferences and turnout: Electoral Office for Northern Ireland result sheets (Crown copyright, OGL v3.0); constituencies: ONS Westminster constituencies, December 2022 boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Strabane is in West Tyrone constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result. Westminster elections are first past the post, so these have vote shares.
43,695 votes for candidates · majority 15,917
Sinn Féin, MP since 3 May 2018.
turnout in July 2024: 43,695 votes from 74,269 registered voters. Northern Ireland: 57%.
Majority 15,917 of 43,695 votes (36.4%): wider than in 89% of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
On more than one ballot
- Assembly 2022: not elected
- Council 2023 · Sperrin: not elected
- Assembly 2022: elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 5,821 votes
- Council 2023 · Derg: not elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 778 votes
- Assembly 2022: not elected
- Council 2023 · Sperrin: elected
- Assembly 2022: not elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 2,287 votes
- Assembly 2022: elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 6,794 votes
6 people stood for more than one of Strabane’s three tiers between 2022 and 2024.
Turnout, July 2024
Votes cast over the electorate, Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies (average 57%).
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. Other ballots: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0).
An average rates bill of £1,121 in Derry City and Strabane
The 3rd-lowest average of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils for 2026–27.
Where an average bill goes
Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, not council tax: the home’s capital value (what it would have sold for in January 2005) times the rate poundage. In Derry City and Strabane for 2026–27 that’s 1.2214p in the pound, so the average bill of £1,121 is a home valued at about £92,000. The council sets the district rate (0.6655p, the 11th-lowest of the 11) and the Executive the regional rate (0.5559p, the same everywhere). This year the district rate rose 4.5% and the regional rate 5%.
Rates paid per home since 2020–21
Rates paid per home in Derry City and Strabane rose from £854 in 2020–21 to £1,070 in 2025–26, 25%, against 24% across Northern Ireland. The rates also pay for water and sewerage; there is no separate water bill. Housing Benefit and Rate Relief cover some or all of a bill on a low income, and Lone Pensioner Allowance takes 20% off for people 70 or over living alone.
2026–27 bill by the home’s 2005 value
Homes valued over £400,000 pay on £400,000. Land & Property Services publishes every home’s capital value.
Rates bills in Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Average domestic rates bill per home, 2026–27 (2025–26 payments at 2026–27 poundages).
Land & Property Services, domestic rates paid by council area 2020–21 to 2025–26; Department of Finance rate poundages (Open Government Licence v3.0). Not available as open data: what each council spends by service.
Having a say in how Strabane is run
It takes about five minutes online; in Northern Ireland you need photo ID to vote at a polling station.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors, its MLAs and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗Potholes and broken pavements go to DfI Roads, not the council: nidirect has the form.
nidirect ↗Search applications near you on the Northern Ireland Planning Portal; commenting needs a free account.
nidirect ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
derrystrabane.com ↗The council’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership holds public meetings with the local police.
derrystrabane.com ↗Polling stations, postal votes and the free Electoral Identity Card.
Electoral Office for NI ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council and Assembly candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Strabane is run
Which council runs Strabane?
Strabane is run by Derry City and Strabane District Council, one of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils. There is no county or town council; schools, health, roads and housing are run by the Executive’s departments and agencies.
Who controls Derry City and Strabane District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected in May 2023, Sinn Féin 18 · SDLP 10 · DUP 5 · Independent 3 · UUP 3 · People Before Profit 1 of 40 seats. Top posts are shared among the parties by size.
Who are Strabane’s councillors?
Strabane is in 2 district electoral areas. Sperrin elected Allan Bresland (DUP), Brian Harte (Sinn Féin), Fergal Leonard (Sinn Féin), Jason Barr (SDLP), Paul 'Gags' Gallagher (Independent), Paul Boggs (Sinn Féin), Raymond Barr (Independent); Derg elected Antaine Ó Fearghail (Sinn Féin), Caroline Devine (Sinn Féin), Derek Hussey (UUP), Keith Kerrigan (DUP), Ruairí McHugh (Sinn Féin), all in May 2023.
Who is the MP for Strabane?
Órfhlaith Begley (Sinn Féin) is the MP for West Tyrone, which covers Strabane.
Is West Tyrone a marginal seat?
No. The 2024 majority was 36.4% of votes cast, the 2nd-widest of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
Who are the MLAs for Strabane?
In May 2022 West Tyrone elected Daniel McCrossan (SDLP), Declan McAleer (Sinn Féin), Maolíosa McHugh (Sinn Féin), Nicola Brogan (Sinn Féin) and Thomas Buchanan (DUP). A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so check the Assembly’s website for who sits now.
Is there council tax in Strabane?
No. Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, based on the home’s value in 2005; the average bill in Derry City and Strabane is about £1,121 a year for 2026–27, and it includes water.
How much are rates on a £100,000 home in Strabane?
A home valued at £100,000 in January 2005 pays £1,221 a year in 2026–27: £666 to the council and £556 to the Executive.
How many candidates stood in Strabane in 2023?
14 candidates stood for 7 seats in Sperrin and 10 candidates stood for 5 seats in Derg.
When are the next elections in Strabane?
The next council and Assembly elections are both due in May 2027. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
Sources: NISRA Census 2021 data zones and ONS constituency boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates and results (CC BY 4.0) · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · Land & Property Services and Department of Finance domestic rates (OGL 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.