Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Birch is run by Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council. No party holds a majority on Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council. Its MP is Mrs Elsie Blundell (Labour), member for Heywood and Middleton North.
£2,601
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Birch’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 30 of its 60 seats as elected, one short of the 31 needed. Reform UK holds 14, the Conservatives 8, Workers Party of Britain 4, the Liberal Democrats 3 and Middleton Independents Party 1. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Birch’s wards, Reform UK took 47.9%, Labour took 26.7% and the Conservatives took 9.9% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Reform UK had 15.6%. How Birch has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Birch is £2,601 for 2026–27; Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 83% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 63% 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.
No party has a majority
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 31 of Rochdale’s 60 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour30
- Reform UK14
- Conservative8
- Workers Party of Britain4
- Liberal Democrat3
- Middleton Independents Party1
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 Birch
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 Birch 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 Birch, from the most recent elections.
- 1Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council1 ward · 3 councillorsSteve PotterCarol Elizabeth WardlePeter Hodgkinson
- 2Mayor of Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester · elected July 2026Bev Craig
- 3House of CommonsHeywood and Middleton North
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.
- Steve PotterReform UK · May 2026
- Carol Elizabeth WardleLabour · May 2024
- Peter HodgkinsonLabour · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopwood Hall2% in Birch · 232 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Steve PotterCarol Elizabeth WardlePeter Hodgkinson | 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. Rochdale 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 Birch’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 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 0% | 0% | 0% | 9% |
| Labour | 52.4% | 64.9% | 50.1% | 26.7% |
| Liberal Democrat | 0% | 4.6% | 7.8% | 4.9% |
| Conservative | 29.4% | 18.7% | 14.2% | 9.9% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 15.6% | 47.9% |
| Middleton Independents Party | 18.3% | 11.8% | 12.4% | 0% |
In 2026, Reform UK won 1 of the 1 seats up in Birch’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.
Rochdale council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Birch, 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. Rochdale elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Birch’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,210 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Birch is in Heywood and Middleton North constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Birch).
37,130 votes for candidates · majority 6,082
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 37,130 votes from 73,328 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 6,082 of 37,130 votes (16.4%): wider than in 58% of England’s 543 constituencies.
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.
Birch’s Band D council tax is £2,601 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £2,161.58 of a Band D bill (83%); the rest goes to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Band D since 1993
Rochdale’s Band D bill has risen 63% in ten years, from £1,596.33 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £664.88 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Rochdale, 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
| Rochdale | Birch’s councils | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £506 | £486 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £371 | £343 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £59 | £24 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £38 | £60 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £65 | £69 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £47 | £55 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £28 | £28 | £26 |
| Public health | £77 | £87 | £78 |
| Running the council | £76 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £8 | £17 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,275 | £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 Birch 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.
rochdale.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
rochdale.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Birch is run
Does Birch have a town council?
No. Birch is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Birch?
Mrs Elsie Blundell (Labour) is the MP for Heywood and Middleton North, which covers Birch.
How many councillors does Birch have?
3 ward councillors represent Birch’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Birch?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Birch’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Birch?
Band D council tax in Birch is £2,601 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 30 · Reform UK 14 · Conservative 8 · Workers Party of Britain 4 · Liberal Democrat 3 · Middleton Independents Party 1 of 60 seats; a majority needs 31. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Birch?
In Birch’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 1 of the 1 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 47.9%.
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.