Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0The Conservatives hold a majority on Braintree District Council
Halstead is run by Braintree District Council and Essex County Council, with Halstead parish council for local matters. The Conservatives have a majority on Braintree District Council and Essex County Council. Its MP is Sir James Cleverly (Conservative), member for Braintree.
£2,275
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Halstead’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Braintree District Council
The Conservatives hold a majority on Braintree District Council: 26 of its 49 seats as elected. Labour holds 9, independents 6, the Greens 4, Halstead Residents' Association 3 and Reform UK 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Essex in 2021
Essex County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Conservative majority at the May 2021 election: the Conservatives won 52 of 75 seats. Essex ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Halstead is £2,275 for 2026–27; Braintree District Council keeps 9% 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 Halstead’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of Braintree’s 49 or 38 of Essex’s 75 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative26
- Labour9
- Independent6
- Green4
- Halstead Residents' Association3
- Reform UK1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Conservative52
- Liberal Democrat8
- Labour5
- Independent4
- Canvey Island Independent Party2
- Residents for Uttlesford2
- Green1
- Rochford District Residents1
Latest election: May 2021.
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
Halstead 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 Halstead’s residents · Band D precept £59
The parish council for the part of Halstead inside Greenstead Green and Halstead Rural parish.
Who runs Halstead: same source as Who runs Halstead, 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 ↗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 Halstead, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsHalstead parish councilGreenstead Green and Halstead Rural parish council
- 2Braintree District Council3 wards · 5 councillorsJackie PellMalcolm FinckenJim BondAndy MundayPeter Gordon Schwier
- 3Essex County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsChris William SiddallPeter Gordon Schwier
- 4Police and crime commissionerEssex Police · elected May 2024Roger Charles Hirst
- 5House of CommonsBraintree
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.
5 councillors for 3 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.
- Jackie PellHalstead Residents' Association · May 2023
- Malcolm FinckenLabour · May 2023
- Jim BondHalstead Residents' Association · May 2023
- Andy MundayHalstead Residents' Association · May 2023
- Peter Gordon SchwierConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Essex County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halstead Trinityall in Halstead · 7,068 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Jackie PellMalcolm Fincken | May 2023 |
| Halstead St Andrew'sall in Halstead · 6,486 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Jim BondAndy Munday | May 2023 |
| Gosfield & Greenstead Green13% in Halstead · 348 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Peter Gordon Schwier | May 2023 |
Essex County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halstead EDmostly in Halstead · 13,554 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Chris William Siddall | May 2021 |
| Hedingham ED1% in Halstead · 348 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Peter Gordon Schwier | May 2021 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Braintree 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).
Braintree council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Halstead, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
3 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Halstead’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,314 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
2,344 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
753 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Halstead is in Braintree constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Halstead).
49,028 votes for candidates · majority 3,670
Conservative, MP since 7 May 2015.
turnout in July 2024: 49,028 votes from 77,673 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,670 of 49,028 votes (7.5%): the 140th-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.
Halstead’s Band D council tax is £2,275 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Braintree District Council keeps £206.01 of a Band D bill (9%); the rest goes to the Halstead parish council, Essex County Council, the Essex Police and the Essex PCC-Fire.
Band D since 1993
Braintree’s Band D bill has risen 47% in ten years, from £1,550.36 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £526.50 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Halstead, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Essex’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included; the 11 nearest of 14. Bars start at £2,100.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Essex
| Braintree + Essex | Halstead’s councils | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £487 | £473 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £187 | £217 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £58 | £51 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £25 | £45 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £120 | £127 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £33 | £47 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £28 | £19 | £26 |
| Public health | £62 | £67 | £78 |
| Running the council | £71 | £69 | £59 |
| Other | £5 | £4 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,076 | £1,118 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Braintree per its residents plus Essex 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. Essex 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 Halstead 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.
braintree.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
braintree.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Halstead is run
Which council runs Halstead?
Halstead is run by Braintree District Council and Essex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Halstead have a town council?
Yes: Halstead has its own parish-tier council (Halstead parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £59 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Halstead?
Sir James Cleverly (Conservative) is the MP for Braintree, which covers Halstead.
How many councillors does Halstead have?
5 ward councillors represent Halstead’s 3 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Halstead?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Halstead’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Halstead?
Band D council tax in Halstead is £2,275 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Braintree District Council?
The Conservatives have a majority: 26 of 49 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2023 council election in Halstead?
In Halstead’s wards on 4 May 2023, Halstead Residents' Association 3 · Labour 1 · Conservative 1 of the 5 seats up. Halstead Residents' Association had the largest share of votes, 43.1%.
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.