Church of St Thomas · Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
Lees is run by Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, with Saddleworth parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. Its MP is Debbie Abrahams (Labour), member for Oldham East and Saddleworth.
£2,612
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Lees’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 28 of its 84 seats as elected, 15 short of the 43 needed. Independents hold 13, Reform UK 13, the Conservatives 11, the Liberal Democrats 8, Failsworth Independent Party 3 and The Oldham Group Party 2. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Lees’s wards, Reform UK took 35.4%, the Liberal Democrats took 25.1% and Labour took 14.2% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Reform UK had 0%. How Lees has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Lees is £2,625 for 2026–27; Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 82% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 56% in ten years, in line with 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 43 of Oldham’s 84 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour28
- Independent13
- Reform UK13
- Conservative11
- Liberal Democrat8
- Failsworth Independent Party3
- The Oldham Group Party2
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 Lees
One council runs every main service here.
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.
54% of Lees’s residents · Band D precept £30
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.
46% of Lees’s residents live outside any parish, with no parish council.
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 Lees, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierSaddleworth parish council
- 2Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council3 wards · 9 councillorsLiberal Democrat 4 · Labour 3 · Conservative 2 · Reform UK 2 · Independent 1 · The Oldham Group Party 1 · all 13
- 3Mayor of Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester · elected July 2026Bev Craig
- 4House of CommonsOldham East and Saddleworth
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.
9 councillors for 3 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.
- Peter KlonowskiReform UK · May 2026
- Mark KenyonLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Sam Al-HamdaniLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Alicia Claire MarlandLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- loan WilliamsReform UK · May 2026
- Garth HarknessLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Pam ByrneConservative · May 2023
- Luke LancasterConservative · May 2023
- Shabir HussainThe Oldham Group Party · May 2026
- Zaheer AliIndependent · May 2024
- Zahid ChauhanLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Shaid MushtaqLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Jenny HarrisonLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saddleworth West & Leesall in Lees · 10,570 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Peter KlonowskiMark KenyonSam Al-HamdaniAlicia Claire Marland | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Saddleworth North16% in Lees · 1,619 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | loan WilliamsGarth HarknessPam ByrneLuke Lancaster | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Alexandra3% in Lees · 452 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Shabir HussainZaheer AliZahid ChauhanShaid MushtaqJenny Harrison | 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. Oldham 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 Liberal Democrats led each vote to 2024; Reform UK led in 2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Lees’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% | 1% | 6.6% |
| Labour | 32.5% | 24.1% | 14.2% |
| Liberal Democrat | 36.4% | 33.9% | 25.1% |
| Independent | 12.7% | 30.3% | 0.4% |
| Conservative | 17.3% | 9.6% | 5.3% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 35.4% |
| The Oldham Group Party | 0% | 0% | 12.9% |
In 2026, Reform UK won 2 and The Oldham Group Party won 1 of the 3 seats up in Lees’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.
Oldham council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Lees, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
3 wards voted. Oldham elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Lees’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,104 votes for candidates
4,291 votes for candidates
3,618 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Lees is in Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Lees).
40,065 votes for candidates · majority 6,357
Labour, MP since 13 January 2011.
turnout in July 2024: 40,065 votes from 73,460 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 6,357 of 40,065 votes (15.9%): wider than in 56% 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.
Lees’s Band D council tax is £2,625 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £2,156.22 of a Band D bill (82%); the rest goes to the Saddleworth parish council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,612 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Oldham’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,665.07 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £623.25 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Saddleworth, 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
| Oldham | Lees’s councils | Greater Manchester | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £416 | £486 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £404 | £343 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £42 | £24 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £51 | £60 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £56 | £69 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £72 | £55 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £17 | £28 | £26 |
| Public health | £90 | £87 | £78 |
| Running the council | £91 | £57 | £59 |
| Other | £39 | £17 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,278 | £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 Lees 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.
oldham.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
oldham.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Lees is run
Which council runs Lees?
Lees is run by Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council.
Does Lees have a town council?
Yes: Lees has its own parish-tier council (Saddleworth parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £30 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Lees?
Debbie Abrahams (Labour) is the MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, which covers Lees.
How many councillors does Lees have?
9 ward councillors represent Lees’s 3 wards.
When are the next elections in Lees?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Lees’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Lees?
Band D council tax in Lees is £2,612 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 28 · Independent 13 · Reform UK 13 · Conservative 11 · Liberal Democrat 8 · Failsworth Independent Party 3 · The Oldham Group Party 2 of 84 seats; a majority needs 43. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Lees?
In Lees’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 2 · The Oldham Group Party 1 of the 3 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 35.4%.
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.