Photo: Glyn Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Basildon Borough Council
North Benfleet is run by Basildon Borough Council and Essex County Council, with Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Basildon Borough Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Essex County Council. Its MP is Rebecca Harris (Conservative), member for Castle Point.
£2,362
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How North Benfleet’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Basildon Borough Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 12 of its 42 seats as elected, 10 short of the 22 needed (it held 17 before the May 2026 election). Reform UK holds 12, the Conservatives 11, independents 4 and Wickford Independents 3. 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 ↓
The 2026 vote
Across North Benfleet’s wards, Reform UK took 47.2%, Labour took 23% and the Conservatives took 19.2% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Reform UK had 0%. How North Benfleet has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in North Benfleet is £2,362 for 2026–27; Basildon Borough Council keeps 13% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 44% 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 North Benfleet’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 22 of Basildon’s 42 or 38 of Essex’s 75 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour12−5
- Reform UK12+10
- Conservative11−2
- Independent4−2
- Wickford Independents3−1
Change against the council before the 7 May 2026 election.
- 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
North Benfleet 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.
100% of North Benfleet’s residents · Band D precept £48
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 North Benfleet, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierBowers Gifford and North Benfleet parish council
- 2Basildon Borough Council1 ward · 3 councillorsDavid Martin AbrahallChristopher Paul HilleardGillian Mary PalmerBen Lewis Westwick
- 3Essex County Council1 division · 2 councillorsEmma CallaghanLuke MackenzieAidan McGurran
- 4Police and crime commissionerEssex Police · elected May 2024Roger Charles Hirst
- 5House of CommonsCastle Point
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 Martin AbrahallReform UK · May 2026
- Christopher Paul HilleardLabour · May 2024
- Gillian Mary PalmerLabour · May 2024
- Ben Lewis WestwickLabour · May 2024
Show as a table, with Essex County Council’s 1 division (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitsea South East13% in North Benfleet · 1,765 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024 | 3 | David Martin AbrahallChristopher Paul HilleardGillian Mary PalmerBen Lewis Westwick | May 2026, May 2024 |
Essex County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon Pitsea ED4% in North Benfleet · 1,765 residents2 seats · July 2024, May 2021 | 2 | Emma Callaghanby-electionLuke MackenzieAidan McGurran | July 2024, May 2021 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Basildon Borough 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).
Labour led each vote to 2024; Reform UK led in 2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in North Benfleet’s wards at each scheduled council election since 2021. A gap is a year with no election here.
Seats won at each election
Show as a table
| Party | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 4.1% | 7.4% |
| Labour | 47.5% | 23% |
| Conservative | 41% | 19.2% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 47.2% |
In 2026, Reform UK won 1 of the 1 seats up in North Benfleet’s wards.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Where a ward elects several councillors at once, each voter has that many votes; all of them count here.
Basildon council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up North Benfleet, 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. Basildon elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for North Benfleet’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,685 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
North Benfleet is in Castle Point constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond North Benfleet).
40,633 votes for candidates · majority 3,251
Conservative, MP since 6 May 2010.
turnout in July 2024: 40,633 votes from 71,026 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,251 of 40,633 votes (8%): the 151st-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.
North Benfleet’s Band D council tax is £2,362 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Basildon Borough Council keeps £304.56 of a Band D bill (13%); the rest goes to the Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet parish council, Essex County Council, the Essex Police and the Essex PCC-Fire.
Band D since 1993
Basildon’s Band D bill has risen 44% in ten years, from £1,614.23 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £657.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet, 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
| Basildon + Essex | North Benfleet’s councils | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £487 | £473 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £187 | £217 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £60 | £51 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £60 | £45 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £130 | £127 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £52 | £47 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £24 | £19 | £26 |
| Public health | £62 | £67 | £78 |
| Running the council | £65 | £69 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £4 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,127 | £1,118 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Basildon 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 North Benfleet 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.
basildon.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
basildon.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how North Benfleet is run
Which council runs North Benfleet?
North Benfleet is run by Basildon Borough Council and Essex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does North Benfleet have a town council?
Yes: North Benfleet has its own parish-tier council (Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £48 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for North Benfleet?
Rebecca Harris (Conservative) is the MP for Castle Point, which covers North Benfleet.
How many councillors does North Benfleet have?
3 ward councillors represent North Benfleet’s 1 ward, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in North Benfleet?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for North Benfleet’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in North Benfleet?
Band D council tax in North Benfleet is £2,362 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Basildon Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 12 · Reform UK 12 · Conservative 11 · Independent 4 · Wickford Independents 3 of 42 seats; a majority needs 22. 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 2026 council election in North Benfleet?
In North Benfleet’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 1 of the 1 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 47.2%.
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.