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Northeast corner of St John the Baptist church, MachenPhoto: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0
Town Hall & politics · Caerphilly County Borough Council

Labour holds a majority on Caerphilly County Borough Council

Machen is run by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Labour has a majority on Caerphilly County Borough Council. Its MP is Chris Evans (Labour), member for Caerphilly.

Council tax 2026–27

£2,083

Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.

Where it goes →
Band D council tax
£2,083
2026–27, a year · council average
Ward councillors
2
1 ward · Caerphilly
MP
Chris Evans
Labour · Caerphilly
Turnout, July 2024
53%
Caerphilly · Wales 56%
What stands out · In brief

How Machen’s politics has changed since 2021

A majority on Caerphilly County Borough Council

Labour holds a majority on Caerphilly County Borough Council: 44 of its 69 seats as elected. Plaid Cymru holds 19, independents 6. Who’s in charge ↓

Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and Welsh Government council tax.

Who’s in charge

Who holds the seats

Seats by party as elected. A party needs 35 of Caerphilly’s 69 seats to run the council alone.

Council · 69 councillorsCaerphilly County Borough CouncilLabour majority
LabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependent69seats
  • Labour44
  • Plaid Cymru19
  • Independent6

Latest election: May 2022.

LabourPlaid CymruIndependent

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.

Who runs Machen

The councils that run Machen

One council runs every main service in a Welsh county or county borough.

County or county borough councilCaerphilly County Borough Council

Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.

Website ↗

Who to ask

Bins and recyclingCaerphilly County Borough Council
Planning applicationsCaerphilly County Borough Council
Council housing and homelessnessCaerphilly County Borough Council
Council tax billsCaerphilly County Borough Council
Parks and leisure centresCaerphilly County Borough Council
Potholes, roads and streetlightsCaerphilly County Borough Council
Schools and school placesCaerphilly County Borough Council
Adult and children’s social careCaerphilly County Borough Council
LibrariesCaerphilly County Borough Council
Tips and recycling centresCaerphilly County Borough Council
Police priorities and budgetGwent Police police and crime commissioner

From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.

Every part of Wales is in a community; many have a community or town council, which the county council lists. Machen’s communities: Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen.

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.

Who represents Machen

From the council to Westminster

Every elected tier that speaks for Machen, from the most recent elections.

  1. 1
    Caerphilly County Borough Council1 ward · 2 councillors
    Amanda McConnellChris Morgan
  2. 2
    Police and crime commissionerGwent Police · elected May 2024
    Jane Mudd
  3. 3
    SeneddBlaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni · 6 members
    Delyth Non JewellLllŷr Tomos PowellLindsey Geoffrey WhittleCatherine CullenNiamh Ffion Mai SalkeldJoshua Seungkyun Kim
  4. 4
    House of CommonsCaerphilly
LabourReform UKPlaid Cymru

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.

Councillors

2 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.

Machen and Rudry
1,985 residents · 39% in Machen
  • Amanda McConnellLabour · May 2022
  • Chris MorganLabour · May 2022
Labour
Show as a table
WardSeatsElectedWhen
Machen and Rudry39% in Machen · 1,985 residents2 seats · May 20222
Amanda McConnellChris Morgan
May 2022

Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Caerphilly County 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).

Local elections

Caerphilly council election, May 2022

Results in the wards that make up Machen, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.

Seats won in Machen’s wards2 seats · 5 May 2022
Labour2

1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.

Next elections

No election is scheduled yet for Machen’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.

Who can I vote for? ↗
Machen and Rudry5 May 2022
Amanda McConnell ElectedLabour30.7%
Chris Morgan ElectedLabour28.8%
Steve AichelerLiberal Democrat17.9%
Ellis SmithConservative12.2%
Gareth Colin BryantLiberal Democrat10.4%

2,327 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each

LabourConservativeLiberal Democrat

Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.

Parliament

Machen is in Caerphilly constituency

The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Machen).

Caerphilly · general election4 July 2024
Chris Evans ElectedLabour38.0%
Lindsay WhittlePlaid Cymru21.2%
Joshua KimReform UK20.3%
Brandon GormanConservative11.5%
Steve AichelerLiberal Democrat4.7%
Mark ThomasGreen4.3%

38,234 votes for candidates · majority 6,419

MP for Caerphilly

Chris Evans

Labour, MP since 6 May 2010.

53%

turnout in July 2024: 38,234 votes from 72,648 registered voters. Wales: 56%.

Majority 6,419 of 38,234 votes (16.8%): the 15th-narrowest of 32 in Wales.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKGreenPlaid Cymru

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.

Senedd Cymru

Members of the Senedd for Machen

Wales’s parliament: health, education, local government and transport in Wales. Elected 7 May 2026 under the new system of 16 six-member constituencies.

Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni7 May 2026
Plaid Cymru3 members elected3 of 6
Reform UK3 members elected3 of 6

Votes are cast for party lists; seats go to lists in proportion (the D’Hondt method). Bars show seats won: list vote totals aren’t in the data yet.

6 members of the Senedd
Delyth Non JewellLllŷr Tomos PowellLindsey Geoffrey WhittleCatherine CullenNiamh Ffion Mai SalkeldJoshua Seungkyun Kim

All of Machen is in Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKGreenPlaid CymruIndependentOther parties

Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Constituencies from ONS (Senedd constituencies 2026).

Council money

Machen’s Band D council tax is £2,083 a year

Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.

COUNCIL TAXBand D · 2026–27 · the average Band D home in Caerphilly
Community councilsaverage across Caerphilly£21.18
Caerphilly County Borough Councilcounty or county borough£1,658.17
Gwent Police and Crime Commissionerpolice£403.53
A year£2,082.88
Bills by band run from 6/9 of Band D (Band A) to 18/9 (Band H) and 21/9 (Band I) in Wales. Discounts and support reduce many bills.

Caerphilly County Borough Council sets £1,658.17 of a Band D bill (80%); the rest goes to community councils and the Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner.

Your bill by band

Band A 6/9£1,389
Band B 7/9£1,620
Band C 8/9£1,851
Band D 9/9£2,083
Band E 11/9£2,546
Band F 13/9£3,009
Band G 15/9£3,471
Band H 18/9£4,166
Band I 21/9£4,860

The average Band D home in Caerphilly, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.

Gwent’s councils

Caerphilly£2,083
Newport£2,088
Torfaen£2,156
Monmouthshire£2,417
Blaenau Gwent£2,531

Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £1,900.

Council budget per resident
£3,327
Caerphilly, 2026–27
Gwent councils
£3,317
per resident
Wales
£3,367
per resident

Revenue budgets 2026–27 including schools (Wales has no academies), Welsh Government; per resident on the Welsh Government’s population. Police and fire are budgeted separately.

Band D: Welsh Government, Council tax levels April 2026 to March 2027.

Get involved

Having a say in how Machen is run

Register to vote

It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.

gov.uk ↗
Contact your councillors or MP

Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.

WriteToThem ↗
Report a pothole or a broken streetlight

GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.

gov.uk ↗
Watch or speak at a council meeting

Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.

caerphilly.gov.uk ↗
Comment on a planning application

Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.

caerphilly.gov.uk ↗
Stand for election

The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.

Electoral Commission ↗

Questions about how Machen is run

Who is the MP for Machen?

Chris Evans (Labour) is the MP for Caerphilly, which covers Machen.

How many councillors does Machen have?

2 ward councillors represent Machen’s 1 ward.

When are the next elections in Machen?

No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Machen’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029; the next Senedd election is due in May 2030.

How much is council tax in Machen?

Band D council tax in Machen is £2,083 for 2026–27 (the council average). Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).

Who controls Caerphilly County Borough Council?

Labour has a majority: 44 of 69 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.

Who won the 2022 council election in Machen?

In Machen’s wards on 5 May 2022, Labour 2 of the 2 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 59.5%.

Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency and Senedd 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) · Welsh Government council tax levels and revenue budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0). 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.