Photo: S Parish · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
Bickershaw is run by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council. Labour has a majority on Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council. Its MP is Andy Burnham (Labour), member for Makerfield.
£2,152
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Bickershaw’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
Labour holds a majority on Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council: 44 of its 79 seats as elected. Reform UK holds 24, independents 9. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Bickershaw’s wards, Reform UK took 54.2%, Labour took 28.5% and the Greens took 9.2% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Reform UK had 7.9%. How Bickershaw has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Bickershaw is £2,152 for 2026–27; Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 80% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 50% 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
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 40 of Wigan’s 79 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour44
- Reform UK24
- Independent9
Latest election: May 2026.
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 Bickershaw
One council runs every main service here.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Bev Craig (Labour and Co-operative), elected July 2026
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
All of Bickershaw 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 Bickershaw, from the most recent elections.
- 1Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council2 wards · 6 councillorsDavid William BowkerNazia Tabussam RehmanMartyn SmethurstEunice SmethurstLiam ClarkeJames PalmerBob BrierleyJohn Melville Vickers
- 2Mayor of Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester · elected July 2026Bev Craig
- 3House of CommonsMakerfield
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.
6 councillors for 2 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.
- David William BowkerReform UK · May 2026
- Nazia Tabussam RehmanLabour and Co-operative · May 2024
- Martyn SmethurstLabour · May 2023
- Eunice SmethurstLabour · May 2023
- Liam ClarkeReform UK · May 2026
- James PalmerLabour · May 2024
- Bob BrierleyIndependent · May 2023
- John Melville VickersLabour · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abram13% in Bickershaw · 1,974 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | David William BowkerNazia Tabussam RehmanMartyn SmethurstEunice Smethurst | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Hindley Green2% in Bickershaw · 303 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Liam ClarkeJames PalmerBob BrierleyJohn Melville Vickers | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Wigan Metropolitan 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 Bickershaw’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 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 0% | 0% | 9.2% |
| Labour | 64.7% | 52.9% | 28.5% |
| Liberal Democrat | 5.4% | 3.4% | 3.4% |
| Independent | 23% | 29.3% | 0% |
| Conservative | 6.9% | 6.5% | 4.7% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 7.9% | 54.2% |
In 2026, Reform UK won 2 of the 2 seats up in Bickershaw’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.
Wigan council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Bickershaw, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
2 wards voted. Wigan elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Bickershaw’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,492 votes for candidates
3,588 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Bickershaw is in Makerfield constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Bickershaw).
40,263 votes for candidates · majority 5,399
Labour, MP since 18 June 2026.
turnout in July 2024: 40,263 votes from 76,641 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,399 of 40,263 votes (13.4%): the 262nd-narrowest of 543 in England.
45,476 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.
Bickershaw’s Band D council tax is £2,152 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £1,712.29 of a Band D bill (80%); the rest goes to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Band D since 1993
Wigan’s Band D bill has risen 50% in ten years, from £1,432.86 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £650.25 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Wigan, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Greater Manchester’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,000.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Greater Manchester
| Wigan | Bickershaw’s councils | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £439 | £486 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £272 | £343 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £19 | £24 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £32 | £60 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £97 | £69 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £70 | £55 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £20 | £28 | £26 |
| Public health | £102 | £87 | £78 |
| Running the council | £60 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £6 | £17 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,115 | £1,226 | £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. Greater Manchester 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 Bickershaw 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.
wigan.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
wigan.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Bickershaw is run
Does Bickershaw have a town council?
No. Bickershaw is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Bickershaw?
Andy Burnham (Labour) is the MP for Makerfield, which covers Bickershaw.
How many councillors does Bickershaw have?
6 ward councillors represent Bickershaw’s 2 wards.
When are the next elections in Bickershaw?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Bickershaw’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Bickershaw?
Band D council tax in Bickershaw is £2,152 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council?
Labour has a majority: 44 of 79 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Bickershaw?
In Bickershaw’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 2 of the 2 seats up. Reform UK 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.