Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on North Devon Council
Barnstaple is run by North Devon Council and Devon County Council, with Barnstaple parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on North Devon Council. No party holds a majority on Devon County Council. Its MP is Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat), member for North Devon.
£2,733
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Barnstaple’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on North Devon Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on North Devon Council: 23 of its 41 seats as elected. Independents hold 9, the Conservatives 6 and the Greens 3. Who’s in charge ↓
Devon changed hands in 2025
Devon County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (39 of 60 seats in 2021) to no overall control at the May 2025 election: the Liberal Democrats won 27 of 60 seats. Devon ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Barnstaple is £2,784 for 2026–27; North Devon Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 57% in ten years, in line with 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 Barnstaple’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 21 of North Devon’s 41 or 31 of Devon’s 60 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat23
- Independent9
- Conservative6
- Green3
Latest election: May 2023.
- Liberal Democrat27+18
- Reform UK18+18
- Conservative7−32
- Green6+4
- Independent2−1
- Labour0−7
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
Barnstaple 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.
74% of Barnstaple’s residents · Band D precept £257
The parish council for the part of Barnstaple inside Fremington parish.
Who runs Barnstaple: same source as Who runs Barnstaple, above.
The parish council for the part of Barnstaple inside Tawstock parish.
Who runs Barnstaple: same source as Who runs Barnstaple, 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.
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 Barnstaple, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish3 parish councilsBarnstaple parish councilFremington parish councilTawstock parish council
- 2North Devon Council6 wards · 14 councillorsLiberal Democrat 16 · all 16
- 3Devon County Council4 divisions · 4 councillorsEd TyldesleyFrank Lindsay BiedermanAndrea Vivienne DavisSyed Jusef
- 4Police and crime commissionerDevon & Cornwall Police · elected May 2024Alison Hernandez
- 5House of CommonsNorth Devon
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.
14 councillors for 6 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.
- Loki Gareth Phillip DawsonLiberal Democrat · May 2025 · by-election
- Ian RoomeLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Mel LoveringLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Jo OrangeLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Josh RuttyLiberal Democrat · July 2025 · by-election
- Peter Richard LeaverLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- David John ClaytonLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Katrina Jean Mary StevensonLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Caroline Frances Herringham LeaverLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Louisa Catherine Emma YorkLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Joy Mary CannLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Will ToppsLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Helen Frances WalkerLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- David KnightLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Christopher James NormanLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Syed JusefLiberal Democrat · May 2023
Show as a table, with Devon County Council’s 4 divisions (4 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstaple with Piltonall in Barnstaple · 8,045 residents3 seats · May 2025, May 2023 | 3 | Loki Gareth Phillip Dawsonby-electionIan RoomeMel LoveringJo Orange | May 2025, May 2023 |
| Barnstaple with Westacottmostly in Barnstaple · 6,681 residents3 seats · July 2025, May 2023 | 3 | Josh Ruttyby-electionPeter Richard LeaverDavid John ClaytonKatrina Jean Mary Stevenson | July 2025, May 2023 |
| Newportall in Barnstaple · 5,054 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Caroline Frances Herringham LeaverLouisa Catherine Emma York | May 2023 |
| Bickingtonmostly in Barnstaple · 4,951 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Joy Mary CannWill ToppsHelen Frances Walker | May 2023 |
| Roundswellall in Barnstaple · 3,655 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | David KnightChristopher James Norman | May 2023 |
| Barnstaple Centralall in Barnstaple · 2,634 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Syed Jusef | May 2023 |
Devon County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chulmleigh & Landkey EDmostly in Barnstaple · 11,986 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Ed Tyldesley | May 2025 |
| Fremington Rural ED47% in Barnstaple · 8,606 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Frank Lindsay Biederman | May 2025 |
| Combe Martin Rural ED41% in Barnstaple · 8,045 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Andrea Vivienne Davis | May 2025 |
| Barnstaple North EDall in Barnstaple · 2,634 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Syed Jusef | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. North Devon 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).
North Devon council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Barnstaple, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
6 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Barnstaple’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,159 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
3,378 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
2,339 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Every ward’s result (3 more)
3,591 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
2,176 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
510 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Barnstaple is in North Devon constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Barnstaple).
51,417 votes for candidates · majority 6,744
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 51,417 votes from 79,079 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 6,744 of 51,417 votes (13.1%): the 255th-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.
Barnstaple’s Band D council tax is £2,784 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
North Devon Council keeps £223.16 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Barnstaple parish council, Devon County Council, the Devon & Cornwall police and crime commissioner and the Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,733 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
North Devon’s Band D bill has risen 57% in ten years, from £1,680.41 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £536.63 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Barnstaple, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Devon’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 Devon
| North Devon + Devon | Barnstaple’s councils | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £503 | £505 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £274 | £309 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £63 | £55 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £37 | £37 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £158 | £128 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £27 | £47 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £44 | £31 | £26 |
| Public health | £46 | £59 | £78 |
| Running the council | £63 | £67 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £2 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,214 | £1,238 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: North Devon per its residents plus Devon 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. Devon 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 Barnstaple 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.
northdevon.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
northdevon.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Barnstaple is run
Which council runs Barnstaple?
Barnstaple is run by North Devon Council and Devon County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Barnstaple have a town council?
Yes: Barnstaple has its own parish-tier council (Barnstaple parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £257 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Barnstaple?
Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for North Devon, which covers Barnstaple.
How many councillors does Barnstaple have?
14 ward councillors represent Barnstaple’s 6 wards, and 4 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Barnstaple?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Barnstaple’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Barnstaple?
Band D council tax in Barnstaple is £2,733 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls North Devon Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 23 of 41 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Devon County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 27 · Reform UK 18 · Conservative 7 · Green 6 · Independent 2 of 60 seats; a majority needs 31.
Who won the 2023 council election in Barnstaple?
In Barnstaple’s wards on 4 May 2023, Liberal Democrat 14 of the 14 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 62.2%.
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.