Photo: EvaK · CC BY-SA 2.5No party holds a majority on Tendring District Council
Harwich is run by Tendring District Council and Essex County Council, with Harwich parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Tendring District Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Essex County Council. Most of Harwich is in Harwich and North Essex (MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, Conservative); 5% of residents are in Clacton (MP Nigel Farage, Reform UK).
£2,258
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Harwich’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Tendring District Council
Independents, the largest group, hold 17 of its 48 seats as elected, 8 short of the 25 needed. The Conservatives hold 16, Labour 8, the Liberal Democrats 4, Reform UK 2 and Tendring First 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 Harwich is £2,255 for 2026–27; Tendring District Council keeps 9% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 48% 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 Harwich’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of Tendring’s 48 or 38 of Essex’s 75 seats to run the council alone.
- Independent17
- Conservative16
- Labour8
- Liberal Democrat4
- Reform UK2
- Tendring First1
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
Harwich 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.
91% of Harwich’s residents · Band D precept £40
The parish council for the part of Harwich inside Little Oakley parish.
Who runs Harwich: same source as Who runs Harwich, above.
The parish council for the part of Harwich inside Ramsey and Parkeston parish.
Who runs Harwich: same source as Who runs Harwich, 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 Harwich, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish3 parish councilsHarwich parish councilLittle Oakley parish councilRamsey and Parkeston parish council
- 2Tendring District Council7 wards · 8 councillorsJo HendersonMaria FowlerIvan John HendersonGarry William John CalverPam MorrisonBill DavidsonMike BushTanya Michelle Ferguson
- 3Essex County Council3 divisions · 3 councillorsIvan John HendersonDan LandCarlo Guglielmi
- 4Police and crime commissionerEssex Police · elected May 2024Roger Charles Hirst
- 5House of CommonsSplit between 2 constituencies
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.
8 councillors for 7 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.
- Jo HendersonLabour · May 2023
- Maria FowlerLabour · May 2023
- Ivan John HendersonLabour · May 2023
- Garry William John CalverLabour · May 2023
- Pam MorrisonLabour · May 2023
- Bill DavidsonLabour · May 2023
- Mike BushIndependent · May 2023
- Tanya Michelle FergusonConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Essex County Council’s 3 divisions (3 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dovercourt All Saintsmostly in Harwich · 6,693 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Jo HendersonMaria Fowler | May 2023 |
| Harwich & Kingswayall in Harwich · 3,667 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Ivan John Henderson | May 2023 |
| Dovercourt Bayall in Harwich · 3,240 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Garry William John Calver | May 2023 |
| Dovercourt Tollgateall in Harwich · 2,741 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Pam Morrison | May 2023 |
| Dovercourt Vines & Parkestonmostly in Harwich · 2,051 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Bill Davidson | May 2023 |
| The Oakleys & Wix31% in Harwich · 943 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Mike Bush | May 2023 |
| Stour Valley29% in Harwich · 884 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Tanya Michelle Ferguson | May 2023 |
Essex County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harwich EDall in Harwich · 16,341 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Ivan John Henderson | May 2021 |
| Tendring Rural East ED9% in Harwich · 2,051 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Dan Land | May 2021 |
| Tendring Rural West ED6% in Harwich · 1,827 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Carlo Guglielmi | May 2021 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Tendring 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).
Tendring council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Harwich, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
7 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Harwich’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,877 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
676 votes for candidates
614 votes for candidates
Every ward’s result (4 more)
547 votes for candidates
508 votes for candidates
771 votes for candidates
968 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Harwich is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Conservative, MP since 9 April 1992
95% of Harwich’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 63% (England 60%).
Majority 1,162 of 48,043 votes (2.4%): the 48th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Reform UK, MP since 13 August 2026
5% of Harwich’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 59% (England 60%).
Majority 8,405 of 45,958 votes (18.3%): wider than in 63% of England’s 543 constituencies.
48,043 votes for candidates · majority 1,162
Conservative, MP since 9 April 1992.
turnout in July 2024: 48,043 votes from 76,296 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 1,162 of 48,043 votes (2.4%): the 48th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Clacton
45,958 votes for candidates · majority 8,405
Reform UK, MP since 13 August 2026.
turnout in July 2024: 45,958 votes from 78,245 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 8,405 of 45,958 votes (18.3%): wider than in 63% of England’s 543 constituencies.
35,111 votes for candidates
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.
Harwich’s Band D council tax is £2,255 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Tendring District Council keeps £205.48 of a Band D bill (9%); the rest goes to the Harwich parish council, Essex County Council, the Essex Police and the Essex PCC-Fire.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,258 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Tendring’s Band D bill has risen 48% in ten years, from £1,534.60 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £531.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Harwich, 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
| Tendring + Essex | Harwich’s councils | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £487 | £473 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £187 | £217 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £63 | £51 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £42 | £45 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £143 | £127 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £53 | £47 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £28 | £19 | £26 |
| Public health | £62 | £67 | £78 |
| Running the council | £53 | £69 | £59 |
| Other | £6 | £4 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,124 | £1,118 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Tendring 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 Harwich 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.
tendringdc.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
tendringdc.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Harwich is run
Which council runs Harwich?
Harwich is run by Tendring District Council and Essex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Harwich have a town council?
Yes: Harwich has its own parish-tier council (Harwich parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £40 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Harwich?
Harwich is split between 2 constituencies: Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin, Conservative) and Clacton (Nigel Farage, Reform UK). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Harwich have?
8 ward councillors represent Harwich’s 7 wards, and 3 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Harwich?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Harwich’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Harwich?
Band D council tax in Harwich is £2,258 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Tendring District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Independent 17 · Conservative 16 · Labour 8 · Liberal Democrat 4 · Reform UK 2 · Tendring First 1 of 48 seats; a majority needs 25. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Essex County Council?
The Conservatives have a majority: 52 of 75 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Harwich?
In Harwich’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 6 · Independent 1 · Conservative 1 of the 8 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 54.2%.
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.