Photo: Nick Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Swale Borough Council
Dunkirk is run by Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council, with Dunkirk parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Swale Borough Council. Reform UK has a majority on Kent County Council. Its MP is Helen Whately (Conservative), member for Faversham and Mid Kent.
£2,420
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Dunkirk’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Swale Borough Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 13 of its 47 seats as elected, 11 short of the 24 needed. Swale Independents holds 13, the Conservatives 11, the Liberal Democrats 5, the Greens 3, independents 1 and Reform UK 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 Dunkirk is £2,420 for 2026–27; Swale Borough Council keeps 9% 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.
Who holds the seats on Dunkirk’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 24 of Swale’s 47 or 42 of Kent’s 82 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour13
- Swale Independents13
- Conservative11
- Liberal Democrat5
- Green3
- Independent1
- Reform UK1
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
Dunkirk 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 Dunkirk’s residents · Band D precept £64
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 Dunkirk, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierDunkirk parish council
- 2Swale Borough Council1 ward · 2 councillorsRich LehmannAlastair Gould
- 3Kent County Council1 division · 1 councillorRich Lehmann
- 4Police and crime commissionerKent Police · elected May 2024Matthew Scott
- 5House of CommonsFaversham and Mid Kent
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.
- Rich LehmannGreen · May 2023
- Alastair GouldGreen · May 2023
Show as a table, with Kent County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boughton and Courtenay5% in Dunkirk · 298 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Rich LehmannAlastair Gould | May 2023 |
Kent County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swale East ED2% in Dunkirk · 298 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Rich Lehmann | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Swale 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).
Swale council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Dunkirk, 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 Dunkirk’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,440 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.
Dunkirk is in Faversham and Mid Kent constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Dunkirk).
46,594 votes for candidates · majority 1,469
Conservative, MP since 7 May 2015.
turnout in July 2024: 46,594 votes from 74,301 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 1,469 of 46,594 votes (3.2%): the 61st-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.
Dunkirk’s Band D council tax is £2,420 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Swale Borough Council keeps £212.76 of a Band D bill (9%); the rest goes to the Dunkirk parish council, Kent County Council, the Kent police and crime commissioner and the Kent Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Swale’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,541.26 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £491.63 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Dunkirk, 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
| Swale + Kent | Dunkirk’s councils | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £505 | £492 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £262 | £266 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £57 | £49 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £43 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £132 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £51 | £49 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £27 | £29 | £26 |
| Public health | £59 | £61 | £78 |
| Running the council | £78 | £74 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £6 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,214 | £1,200 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Swale 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 Dunkirk 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.
swale.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
swale.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Dunkirk is run
Which council runs Dunkirk?
Dunkirk is run by Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Dunkirk have a town council?
Yes: Dunkirk has its own parish-tier council (Dunkirk parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £64 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Dunkirk?
Helen Whately (Conservative) is the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, which covers Dunkirk.
How many councillors does Dunkirk have?
2 ward councillors represent Dunkirk’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Dunkirk?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Dunkirk’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Dunkirk?
Band D council tax in Dunkirk is £2,420 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Swale Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 13 · Swale Independents 13 · Conservative 11 · Liberal Democrat 5 · Green 3 · Independent 1 · Reform UK 1 of 47 seats; a majority needs 24. 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 Dunkirk?
In Dunkirk’s wards on 4 May 2023, Green 2 of the 2 seats up. The Greens had the largest share of votes, 65.3%.
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.