Photo: Christine Matthews · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on East Hertfordshire District Council
Ware is run by East Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council, with Ware parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on either East Hertfordshire District Council or Hertfordshire County Council. Its MP is Josh Dean (Labour), member for Hertford and Stortford.
£2,624
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Ware’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on East Hertfordshire District Council
No party holds a majority on East Hertfordshire District Council. The Greens, the largest group, hold 19 of its 50 seats as elected, 7 short of the 26 needed. The Conservatives hold 15, the Liberal Democrats 10, Labour 5 and Reform UK 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 Ware is £2,624 for 2026–27; East Hertfordshire District Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 58% 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.
No party has a majority on either council
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 26 of East Hertfordshire’s 50 or 40 of Hertfordshire’s 78 seats to run the council alone.
- Green19
- Conservative15
- Liberal Democrat10
- Labour5
- Reform UK1
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
Ware 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 Ware’s residents · Band D precept £278
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 Ware, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierWare parish council
- 2East Hertfordshire District Council3 wards · 6 councillorsGeorge Robert Kenneth WilliamsGraeme Crerar HillMartin Francis ButcherSteven WatsonChris HartNick Cox
- 3Hertfordshire County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsSteven WatsonKirsty Taylor-Moran
- 4Police and crime commissionerHertfordshire Constabulary · elected May 2024Jonathan Ash-Edwards
- 5House of CommonsHertford and Stortford
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 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.
- George Robert Kenneth WilliamsGreen · May 2023
- Graeme Crerar HillGreen · May 2023
- Martin Francis ButcherGreen · May 2023
- Steven WatsonGreen · May 2023
- Chris HartGreen · May 2023
- Nick CoxGreen · May 2023
Show as a table, with Hertfordshire County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware Prioryall in Ware · 7,459 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | George Robert Kenneth WilliamsGraeme Crerar Hill | May 2023 |
| Ware St Mary'sall in Ware · 6,402 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Martin Francis ButcherSteven Watson | May 2023 |
| Ware Trinityall in Ware · 5,770 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Chris HartNick Cox | May 2023 |
Hertfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware South EDmostly in Ware · 13,229 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Steven Watson | May 2025 |
| Ware North EDmostly in Ware · 6,402 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Kirsty Taylor-Moran | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. East Hertfordshire District 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).
East Hertfordshire council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Ware, 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. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Ware’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,505 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
3,285 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
2,432 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.
Ware is in Hertford and Stortford constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Ware).
54,009 votes for candidates · majority 4,748
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 54,009 votes from 78,915 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 4,748 of 54,009 votes (8.8%): the 163rd-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.
Ware’s Band D council tax is £2,624 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
East Hertfordshire District Council keeps £207.03 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Ware parish council, Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
East Hertfordshire’s Band D bill has risen 58% in ten years, from £1,553.68 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £534.38 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Ware, 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
| East Hertfordshire + Hertfordshire | Ware’s councils | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £475 | £476 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £219 | £219 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £62 | £68 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £34 | £31 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £76 | £107 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £32 | £39 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £24 | £17 | £26 |
| Public health | £54 | £54 | £78 |
| Running the council | £51 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £21 | £7 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,090 | £1,124 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: East Hertfordshire 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 Ware 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.
eastherts.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
eastherts.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Ware is run
Which council runs Ware?
Ware is run by East Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Ware have a town council?
Yes: Ware has its own parish-tier council (Ware parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £278 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Ware?
Josh Dean (Labour) is the MP for Hertford and Stortford, which covers Ware.
How many councillors does Ware have?
6 ward councillors represent Ware’s 3 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Ware?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Ware’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Ware?
Band D council tax in Ware is £2,624 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls East Hertfordshire District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Green 19 · Conservative 15 · Liberal Democrat 10 · Labour 5 · Reform UK 1 of 50 seats; a majority needs 26. 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 2023 council election in Ware?
In Ware’s wards on 4 May 2023, Green 6 of the 6 seats up. The Greens had the largest share of votes, 54.5%.
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.