Moss Cottage · Photo: Richard Sutcliffe · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council
Bowdon is run by Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. Labour has a majority on Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. Its MP is Mr Connor Rand (Labour), member for Altrincham and Sale West.
£2,290
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Bowdon’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council
Labour holds a majority on Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council: 41 of its 75 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 13, the Greens 7, the Liberal Democrats 6 and Reform UK 2. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Bowdon’s wards, the Conservatives took 50.1%, the Greens took 32.9% and Reform UK took 8.7% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Conservatives had 40%. How Bowdon has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Bowdon is £2,290 for 2026–27; Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 81% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 70% 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 38 of Trafford’s 75 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour41
- Conservative13
- Green7
- Liberal Democrat6
- Reform UK2
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 Bowdon
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 Bowdon 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 Bowdon, from the most recent elections.
- 1Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council2 wards · 6 councillorsShengke ZhiLisa HancockPhil EckersleyMike WhettonRupert Owen KellyNatalie ShalomOwain Sutton
- 2Mayor of Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester · elected July 2026Bev Craig
- 3House of CommonsAltrincham and Sale West
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.
- Shengke ZhiConservative · May 2026
- Lisa HancockConservative · May 2024
- Phil EckersleyConservative · May 2023
- Mike WhettonConservative · May 2023
- Rupert Owen KellyConservative · May 2026
- Natalie ShalomConservative · November 2025 · by-election
- Owain SuttonGreen · May 2024
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdonmostly in Bowdon · 5,766 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Shengke ZhiLisa HancockPhil EckersleyMike Whetton | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Hale3% in Bowdon · 341 residents3 seats · May 2026, November 2025, May 2024 | 3 | Rupert Owen KellyNatalie Shalomby-electionOwain Sutton | May 2026, November 2025, May 2024 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Trafford 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).
The Greens led each vote to 2024; the Conservatives led in 2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Bowdon’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 | 44% | 45% | 32.9% |
| Labour | 9.3% | 9.9% | 5.2% |
| Conservative | 42.8% | 40% | 50.1% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 2.3% | 8.7% |
In 2026, the Conservatives won 2 of the 2 seats up in Bowdon’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.
Trafford council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Bowdon, 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. Trafford elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Bowdon’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,804 votes for candidates
4,291 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Bowdon is in Altrincham and Sale West constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Bowdon).
51,452 votes for candidates · majority 4,174
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 51,452 votes from 74,025 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 4,174 of 51,452 votes (8.1%): the 152nd-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.
Bowdon’s Band D council tax is £2,290 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £1,850.54 of a Band D bill (81%); the rest goes to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Band D since 1993
Trafford’s Band D bill has risen 70% in ten years, from £1,344.30 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £513.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Trafford, 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
| Trafford | Bowdon’s councils | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £452 | £486 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £241 | £343 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £23 | £24 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £27 | £60 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £48 | £69 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £40 | £55 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £-9 | £28 | £26 |
| Public health | £64 | £87 | £78 |
| Running the council | £97 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £16 | £17 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £998 | £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 Bowdon 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.
trafford.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
trafford.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Bowdon is run
Does Bowdon have a town council?
No. Bowdon is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Bowdon?
Mr Connor Rand (Labour) is the MP for Altrincham and Sale West, which covers Bowdon.
How many councillors does Bowdon have?
6 ward councillors represent Bowdon’s 2 wards.
When are the next elections in Bowdon?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Bowdon’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Bowdon?
Band D council tax in Bowdon is £2,290 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council?
Labour has a majority: 41 of 75 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Bowdon?
In Bowdon’s wards on 7 May 2026, Conservative 2 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 50.1%.
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.