Photo: John Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Dover District Council
Dover is run by Dover District Council and Kent County Council, with Dover parish council for local matters. Labour has a majority on Dover District Council. Reform UK has a majority on Kent County Council. Its MP is Mike Tapp (Labour), member for Dover and Deal.
£2,486
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Dover’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Dover District Council
Labour holds a majority on Dover District Council: 17 of its 32 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 13, the Greens 1 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Kent in 2025
Kent County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Reform UK majority at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 56 of 82 seats. Kent ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Dover is £2,498 for 2026–27; Dover District Council keeps 9% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 55% 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.
Who holds the seats on Dover’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 17 of Dover’s 32 or 42 of Kent’s 82 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour17
- Conservative13
- Green1
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK56
- Liberal Democrat12
- Conservative6
- Green6
- Labour2
Latest election: May 2025.
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
Dover 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.
85% of Dover’s residents · Band D precept £127
The parish council for the part of Dover inside River parish.
Who runs Dover: same source as Who runs Dover, above.
The parish council for the part of Dover inside Temple Ewell parish.
Who runs Dover: same source as Who runs Dover, above.
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 Dover, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish3 parish councilsDover parish councilRiver parish councilTemple Ewell parish council
- 2Dover District Council6 wards · 10 councillorsLabour 8 · Conservative 2 · all 10
- 3Kent County Council2 divisions · 3 councillorsJames Robert DefriendAlbert ThorpPaul John King
- 4Police and crime commissionerKent Police · elected May 2024Matthew Scott
- 5House of CommonsDover and Deal
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.
10 councillors for 6 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.
- Susan HillLabour · May 2023
- Edward BiggsLabour · May 2023
- Lynne Marie WrightLabour · May 2023
- Gordan CowanLabour · May 2023
- Kevin MillsLabour · May 2023
- Charlotte ZossederLabour · May 2023
- David Garry BeaneyConservative · May 2023
- Mark RoseConservative · May 2023
- Pam BrivioLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Michael Joseph NeeLabour · May 2023
Show as a table, with Kent County Council’s 2 divisions (3 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town & Castleall in Dover · 8,278 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Susan HillEdward Biggs | May 2023 |
| St Radigundsall in Dover · 6,997 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Lynne Marie WrightGordan Cowan | May 2023 |
| Bucklandmostly in Dover · 6,963 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Kevin MillsCharlotte Zosseder | May 2023 |
| Dover Downs & Rivermostly in Dover · 5,575 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | David Garry BeaneyMark Rose | May 2023 |
| Tower Hamletsall in Dover · 4,532 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Pam Brivio | May 2023 |
| Maxton & Elms Valeall in Dover · 4,004 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Michael Joseph Nee | May 2023 |
Kent County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover Town EDall in Dover · 30,774 residents2 seats · May 2025 | 2 | James Robert DefriendAlbert Thorp | May 2025 |
| Dover West ED20% in Dover · 5,575 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Paul John King | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Dover 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).
Dover council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Dover, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
6 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Dover’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,705 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,703 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
2,030 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Every ward’s result (3 more)
3,720 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
619 votes for candidates
979 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Dover is in Dover and Deal constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Dover).
47,775 votes for candidates · majority 7,585
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 47,775 votes from 76,406 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 7,585 of 47,775 votes (15.9%): wider than in 56% 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.
Dover’s Band D council tax is £2,498 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Dover District Council keeps £227.34 of a Band D bill (9%); the rest goes to the Dover parish council, Kent County Council, the Kent police and crime commissioner and the Kent Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,486 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Dover’s Band D bill has risen 55% in ten years, from £1,592.00 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £538.88 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Dover, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Kent’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included; the 11 nearest of 13. Bars start at £2,200.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Kent
| Dover + Kent | Dover’s councils | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £505 | £492 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £262 | £266 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £56 | £49 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £51 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £164 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £52 | £49 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £42 | £29 | £26 |
| Public health | £58 | £61 | £78 |
| Running the council | £91 | £74 | £59 |
| Other | £-7 | £6 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,275 | £1,200 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Dover per its residents plus Kent 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. Kent 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 Dover 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.
dover.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
dover.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Dover is run
Which council runs Dover?
Dover is run by Dover District Council and Kent County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Dover have a town council?
Yes: Dover has its own parish-tier council (Dover parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £127 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Dover?
Mike Tapp (Labour) is the MP for Dover and Deal, which covers Dover.
How many councillors does Dover have?
10 ward councillors represent Dover’s 6 wards, and 3 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Dover?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Dover’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Dover?
Band D council tax in Dover is £2,486 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Dover District Council?
Labour has a majority: 17 of 32 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Kent County Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 56 of 82 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Dover?
In Dover’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 8 · Conservative 2 of the 10 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 42.2%.
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.