Photo: Sealman · CC BY-SA 3.0No party holds a majority on Welwyn Hatfield Council
Essendon is run by Welwyn Hatfield Council and Hertfordshire County Council, with Essendon parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on either Welwyn Hatfield Council or Hertfordshire County Council. Its MP is Andrew Lewin (Labour), member for Welwyn Hatfield.
£2,572
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Essendon’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Welwyn Hatfield Council
No party holds a majority on Welwyn Hatfield Council. Labour, the largest group, holds 17 of its 47 seats as elected, 7 short of the 24 needed. The Liberal Democrats hold 16, the Conservatives 11 and Reform UK 3. Who’s in charge ↓
Hertfordshire changed hands in 2025
Hertfordshire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (45 of 78 seats in 2021) to no overall control at the May 2025 election: the Liberal Democrats won 31 of 78 seats. Hertfordshire ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Essendon’s wards, the Conservatives took 45.9%, Reform UK took 27.3% and the Greens took 13.4% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Conservatives had 58.9%. How Essendon has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Essendon is £2,572 for 2026–27; Welwyn Hatfield Council keeps 10% 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 on either council
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 24 of Welwyn Hatfield’s 47 or 40 of Hertfordshire’s 78 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour17
- Liberal Democrat16
- Conservative11
- Reform UK3
Latest election: May 2026.
- Liberal Democrat31+7
- Conservative23−22
- Reform UK13+13
- Green5+4
- Labour5−2
- Independent1no change
Change against the council before the 1 May 2025 election.
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.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Essendon has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
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.
100% of Essendon’s residents · Band D precept £182
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.
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 Essendon, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierEssendon parish council
- 2Welwyn Hatfield Council1 ward · 1 councillorCraig Stanbury
- 3Hertfordshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorFiona Thomson
- 4Police and crime commissionerHertfordshire Constabulary · elected May 2024Jonathan Ash-Edwards
- 5House of CommonsWelwyn Hatfield
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.
1 councillor 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.
- Craig StanburyConservative · May 2026
Show as a table, with Hertfordshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookmans Park and Little Heath10% in Essendon · 661 residents1 seat · May 2026 | 1 | Craig Stanbury | May 2026 |
Hertfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatfield Rural ED5% in Essendon · 661 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Fiona Thomson | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Welwyn Hatfield 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 Conservatives have led every council vote since 2021
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Essendon’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 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 0% | 0% | 7.6% | 5.2% | 13.4% |
| Labour | 15.9% | 19.1% | 18.3% | 21.3% | 7% |
| Liberal Democrat | 10.9% | 15.9% | 12.1% | 7.8% | 5.9% |
| Conservative | 73.2% | 65% | 62% | 58.9% | 45.9% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6.8% | 27.3% |
In 2026, the Conservatives won 1 of the 1 seats up in Essendon’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.
Welwyn Hatfield council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Essendon, 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. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Essendon’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,438 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Essendon is in Welwyn Hatfield constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Essendon).
48,455 votes for candidates · majority 3,799
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 48,455 votes from 75,259 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,799 of 48,455 votes (7.8%): the 149th-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.
Essendon’s Band D council tax is £2,572 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Welwyn Hatfield Council keeps £252.00 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Essendon parish council, Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
Welwyn Hatfield’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,569.35 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £612.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Essendon, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Hertfordshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,200.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Hertfordshire
| Welwyn Hatfield + Hertfordshire | Essendon’s councils | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £475 | £476 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £219 | £219 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £51 | £68 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £33 | £31 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £124 | £107 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £55 | £39 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £-7 | £17 | £26 |
| Public health | £54 | £54 | £78 |
| Running the council | £45 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £1 | £7 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,093 | £1,124 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Welwyn Hatfield per its residents plus Hertfordshire per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Hertfordshire 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 Essendon 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.
welhat.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
welhat.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Essendon is run
Which council runs Essendon?
Essendon is run by Welwyn Hatfield Council and Hertfordshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Essendon have a town council?
Yes: Essendon has its own parish-tier council (Essendon parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £182 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Essendon?
Andrew Lewin (Labour) is the MP for Welwyn Hatfield, which covers Essendon.
How many councillors does Essendon have?
1 ward councillors represent Essendon’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Essendon?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Essendon’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Essendon?
Band D council tax in Essendon is £2,572 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Welwyn Hatfield Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 17 · Liberal Democrat 16 · Conservative 11 · Reform UK 3 of 47 seats; a majority needs 24. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Hertfordshire County Council?
As elected, Liberal Democrat 31 · Conservative 23 · Reform UK 13 · Green 5 · Labour 5 · Independent 1 of 78 seats; a majority needs 40.
Who won the 2026 council election in Essendon?
In Essendon’s wards on 7 May 2026, Conservative 1 of the 1 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 45.9%.
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.