Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
Merley is run by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. No party holds a majority on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Its MP is Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat), member for Mid Dorset and North Poole.
£2,400
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Merley’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 29 of its 76 seats as elected, 10 short of the 39 needed. Labour holds 11, the Conservatives 11, Christchurch Independents 8, the Greens 6, The Party for Poole People Ltd. 5 and independents 4. 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.
No party has a majority
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 39 of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s 76 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat29
- Conservative11
- Labour11
- Christchurch Independents8
- Green6
- The Party for Poole People Ltd.5
- Independent4
- Poole Engage Party2
Latest election: May 2023.
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 Merley
One council runs every main service here.
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.
All of Merley is unparished: there is no parish or town council, so the council runs local matters itself and no parish precept is added to the bill.
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 council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Merley, from the most recent elections.
- 1Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council1 ward · 3 councillorsDavid Anthony BrownMarcus Julian Charles AndrewsRichard Glyn Burton
- 2Police and crime commissionerDorset Police · elected May 2024David Sidwick
- 3House of CommonsMid Dorset and North Poole
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.
3 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.
- David Anthony BrownLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Marcus Julian Charles AndrewsLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Richard Glyn BurtonLiberal Democrat · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bearwood & Merley39% in Merley · 5,489 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | David Anthony BrownMarcus Julian Charles AndrewsRichard Glyn Burton | May 2023 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 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).
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Merley, 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 Merley’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗10,284 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.
Merley is in Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Merley).
49,514 votes for candidates · majority 1,352
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 49,514 votes from 75,294 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 1,352 of 49,514 votes (2.7%): the 54th-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.
Merley’s Band D council tax is £2,400 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council keeps £1,980.46 of a Band D bill (83%); the rest goes to the Dorset police and crime commissioner and the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, 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 Dorset
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | Merley’s councils | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £489 | £497 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £286 | £273 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £18 | £30 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £63 | £46 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £116 | £111 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £46 | £36 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £29 | £25 | £26 |
| Public health | £68 | £58 | £78 |
| Running the council | £46 | £54 | £59 |
| Other | £37 | £57 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,198 | £1,188 | £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. Dorset 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 Merley 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.
bcpcouncil.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
bcpcouncil.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Merley is run
Does Merley have a town council?
No. Merley is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Merley?
Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, which covers Merley.
How many councillors does Merley have?
3 ward councillors represent Merley’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Merley?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Merley’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Merley?
Band D council tax in Merley is £2,400 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 29 · Labour 11 · Conservative 11 · Christchurch Independents 8 · Green 6 · The Party for Poole People Ltd. 5 · Independent 4 · Poole Engage Party 2 of 76 seats; a majority needs 39. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2023 council election in Merley?
In Merley’s wards on 4 May 2023, Liberal Democrat 3 of the 3 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 71.9%.
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.