Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Dacorum Borough Council
Markyate is run by Dacorum Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council, with Markyate parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Dacorum Borough Council. No party holds a majority on Hertfordshire County Council. Its MP is Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat), member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
£2,472
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Markyate’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Dacorum Borough Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Dacorum Borough Council: 27 of its 51 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 19, Labour 4 and independents 1. 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 ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Markyate is £2,472 for 2026–27; Dacorum Borough Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 57% 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.
Who holds the seats on Markyate’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 26 of Dacorum’s 51 or 40 of Hertfordshire’s 78 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat27
- Conservative19
- Labour4
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2023.
- 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
Markyate 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 Markyate’s residents · Band D precept £90
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 Markyate, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierMarkyate parish council
- 2Dacorum Borough Council1 ward · 2 councillorsJane TimmisEdward Michael John Barradell
- 3Hertfordshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorCaroline Smith-Wright
- 4Police and crime commissionerHertfordshire Constabulary · elected May 2024Jonathan Ash-Edwards
- 5House of CommonsHarpenden and Berkhamsted
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.
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.
- Jane TimmisConservative · May 2023
- Edward Michael John BarradellConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Hertfordshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watlingmostly in Markyate · 3,174 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Jane TimmisEdward Michael John Barradell | May 2023 |
Hertfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater ED18% in Markyate · 3,174 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Caroline Smith-Wright | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Dacorum 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).
Dacorum council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Markyate, 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 Markyate’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,730 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Markyate is in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Markyate).
54,336 votes for candidates · majority 10,708
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 54,336 votes from 72,242 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 10,708 of 54,336 votes (19.7%): wider than in 66% 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.
Markyate’s Band D council tax is £2,472 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Dacorum Borough Council keeps £243.21 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Markyate parish council, Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
Dacorum’s Band D bill has risen 57% in ten years, from £1,530.93 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £514.13 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Markyate, 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
| Dacorum + Hertfordshire | Markyate’s councils | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £475 | £476 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £219 | £219 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £69 | £68 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £10 | £31 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £100 | £107 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £37 | £39 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £31 | £17 | £26 |
| Public health | £54 | £54 | £78 |
| Running the council | £91 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £1 | £7 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,130 | £1,124 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Dacorum 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 Markyate 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.
dacorum.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
dacorum.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Markyate is run
Which council runs Markyate?
Markyate is run by Dacorum Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Markyate have a town council?
Yes: Markyate has its own parish-tier council (Markyate parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £90 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Markyate?
Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, which covers Markyate.
How many councillors does Markyate have?
2 ward councillors represent Markyate’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Markyate?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Markyate’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Markyate?
Band D council tax in Markyate is £2,472 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Dacorum Borough Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 27 of 51 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Hertfordshire County Council?
No party has a majority. 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 2023 council election in Markyate?
In Markyate’s wards on 4 May 2023, Conservative 2 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 47.4%.
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.