Photo: Colin Riegels / Legis at en.wikipedia · Public domainThe Liberal Democrats hold a majority on St Albans City and District Council
Wheathampstead is run by St Albans City and District Council and Hertfordshire County Council, with Wheathampstead parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on St Albans City and District Council. No party holds a majority on Hertfordshire County Council. Its MP is Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat), member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
£2,474
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Wheathampstead’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on St Albans City and District Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on St Albans City and District Council: 44 of its 56 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 5, the Greens 3, Labour 2 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 ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Wheathampstead’s wards, the Liberal Democrats took 41.9%, the Conservatives took 23.9% and Reform UK took 18.8% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Liberal Democrats had 55.7%. How Wheathampstead has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Wheathampstead is £2,474 for 2026–27; St Albans City and District Council keeps 9% 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 Wheathampstead’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 29 of St Albans’s 56 or 40 of Hertfordshire’s 78 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat44
- Conservative5
- Green3
- Labour2
- Independent1
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
Wheathampstead 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 Wheathampstead’s residents · Band D precept £122
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 Wheathampstead, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierWheathampstead parish council
- 2St Albans City and District Council1 ward · 3 councillorsAnn Ellen Mary Chance-ReadSimon Richard JohnsOwain Alistair McKenzie
- 3Hertfordshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorAllison Frances Wren
- 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.
3 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.
- Ann Ellen Mary Chance-ReadLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Simon Richard JohnsLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Owain Alistair McKenzieLiberal Democrat · May 2024
Show as a table, with Hertfordshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandridge & Wheathampsteadmostly in Wheathampstead · 4,523 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024 | 3 | Ann Ellen Mary Chance-ReadSimon Richard JohnsOwain Alistair McKenzie | May 2026, May 2024 |
Hertfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harpenden Rural ED13% in Wheathampstead · 4,523 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Allison Frances Wren | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. St Albans City and 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).
The Liberal Democrats have led every council vote since 2022
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Wheathampstead’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 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 5.4% | 6.7% | 13.8% | 11.7% |
| Labour | 3.4% | 6% | 9.8% | 3.7% |
| Liberal Democrat | 49.1% | 48.8% | 55.7% | 41.9% |
| Conservative | 42% | 38.6% | 20.8% | 23.9% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 18.8% |
In 2026, the Liberal Democrats won 2 of the 2 seats up in Wheathampstead’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.
St Albans council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Wheathampstead, 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. Not every seat in the town’s wards was up this time.
No election is scheduled yet for Wheathampstead’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗5,579 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.
Wheathampstead 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 Wheathampstead).
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.
Wheathampstead’s Band D council tax is £2,474 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
St Albans City and District Council keeps £214.22 of a Band D bill (9%); the rest goes to the Wheathampstead parish council, Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
St Albans’s Band D bill has risen 57% in ten years, from £1,541.65 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £531.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Wheathampstead, 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
| St Albans + Hertfordshire | Wheathampstead’s councils | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £475 | £476 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £219 | £219 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £53 | £68 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £33 | £31 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £103 | £107 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £22 | £39 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £12 | £17 | £26 |
| Public health | £54 | £54 | £78 |
| Running the council | £45 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £3 | £7 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,063 | £1,124 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: St Albans 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 Wheathampstead 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.
stalbans.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
stalbans.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Wheathampstead is run
Which council runs Wheathampstead?
Wheathampstead is run by St Albans City and District Council and Hertfordshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Wheathampstead have a town council?
Yes: Wheathampstead has its own parish-tier council (Wheathampstead parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £122 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Wheathampstead?
Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, which covers Wheathampstead.
How many councillors does Wheathampstead have?
3 ward councillors represent Wheathampstead’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Wheathampstead?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Wheathampstead’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Wheathampstead?
Band D council tax in Wheathampstead is £2,474 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls St Albans City and District Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 44 of 56 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 2026 council election in Wheathampstead?
In Wheathampstead’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 2 of the 2 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 41.9%.
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.