Photo: Christopher Hilton · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Thanet District Council
Margate is run by Thanet District Council and Kent County Council. Labour has a majority on Thanet District Council. Reform UK has a majority on Kent County Council. Most of Margate is in East Thanet (MP Ms Polly Billington, Labour); 44% of residents are in Herne Bay and Sandwich (MP Sir Roger Gale, Conservative).
£2,452
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Margate’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Thanet District Council
Labour holds a majority on Thanet District Council: 30 of its 56 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 17, the Greens 4, Reform UK 2, Thanet Independents 2 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 Margate is £2,441 for 2026–27; Thanet District Council keeps 11% 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 Margate’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 29 of Thanet’s 56 or 42 of Kent’s 82 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour30
- Conservative17
- Green4
- Reform UK2
- Thanet Independents2
- 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
Margate has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
The parish council for the part of Margate inside Birchington parish.
16% of Margate’s residents · Band D precept £63
The parish council for the part of Margate inside Westgate-on-Sea parish.
Who runs Margate: same source as Who runs Margate, 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.
71% of Margate’s residents live outside any parish, with no parish council; there, its charter trustees (Margate Charter Trustees) keep the ceremonial mayoralty and add £18.00 to a Band D bill.
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 Margate, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsBirchington parish councilWestgate-on-Sea parish council
- 2Thanet District Council10 wards · 25 councillorsLabour 13 · Conservative 9 · Thanet Independents 3 · Reform UK 1 · all 26
- 3Kent County Council3 divisions · 4 councillorsJamie HendersonLuke Peter EvansAmelia RandallRob Yates
- 4Police and crime commissionerKent Police · elected May 2024Matthew Scott
- 5House of CommonsSplit between 2 constituencies
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.
25 councillors for 10 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.
- Alan Robert CurrieLabour · May 2023
- Heather KeenLabour · May 2023
- Harry ScobieLabour · May 2023
- Ruth DuckworthLabour · May 2023
- Jack PackmanLabour · May 2023
- Martin John BoydLabour · May 2023
- Bertie James BraidwoodThanet Independents · May 2023
- Matthew ScottConservative · May 2023
- David DonaldsonLabour · May 2023
- Phil FellowsConservative · May 2023
- Linda Ann WrightConservative · May 2023
- Emma DawsonConservative · May 2023
- Barry Kenneth MannersConservative · May 2023
- Marc Lee RattiganConservative · May 2023
- Cedric Leslie TowningConservative · May 2023
- Helen Elizabeth WhiteheadLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Rob YatesLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Katie Elizabeth PopeLabour · May 2023
- Leo David BritcherLabour · May 2023
- Darren OxborrowReform UK · October 2025 · by-election
- John WorrowThanet Independents · May 2023
- John DennisThanet Independents · May 2023
- Elysa Chiarina D'AbbroLabour · May 2023
- John Martin EdwardsLabour · May 2023
- George KupConservative · May 2023
- Reece PughConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Kent County Council’s 3 divisions (4 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliftonville Westall in Margate · 9,924 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Alan Robert CurrieHeather KeenHarry Scobie | May 2023 |
| Dane Valleyall in Margate · 7,847 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Ruth DuckworthJack PackmanMartin John Boyd | May 2023 |
| Westgate-on-Seaall in Margate · 7,514 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Bertie James BraidwoodMatthew ScottDavid Donaldson | May 2023 |
| Birchington Southall in Margate · 6,505 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Phil FellowsLinda Ann WrightEmma Dawson | May 2023 |
| Cliftonville Eastall in Margate · 6,445 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | Barry Kenneth MannersMarc Lee RattiganCedric Leslie Towning | May 2023 |
| Margate Centralall in Margate · 6,231 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Helen Elizabeth WhiteheadRob Yates | May 2023 |
| Salmestonemostly in Margate · 5,228 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Katie Elizabeth PopeLeo David Britcher | May 2023 |
| Garlingeall in Margate · 4,988 residents2 seats · October 2025, May 2023 | 2 | Darren Oxborrowby-electionJohn WorrowJohn Dennis | October 2025, May 2023 |
| Westbrookall in Margate · 4,561 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Elysa Chiarina D'AbbroJohn Martin Edwards | May 2023 |
| Birchington Northall in Margate · 3,881 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | George KupReece Pugh | May 2023 |
Kent County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margate EDall in Margate · 29,230 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Jamie Henderson | May 2025 |
| Birchington & Rural EDmostly in Margate · 27,640 residents2 seats · May 2025 | 2 | Luke Peter EvansAmelia Randall | May 2025 |
| Cliftonville ED48% in Margate · 6,445 residents1 seat · April 2026 | 1 | Rob Yatesby-election | April 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Thanet 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).
Thanet council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Margate, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
10 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Margate’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,269 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
3,147 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
4,602 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Every ward’s result (7 more)
3,978 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
4,921 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
1,522 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,503 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,889 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,916 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
3,516 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.
Margate is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
56% of Margate’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 57% (England 60%).
Majority 6,971 of 42,713 votes (16.3%): wider than in 58% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Conservative, MP since 9 June 1983
44% of Margate’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 63% (England 60%).
Majority 2,499 of 48,827 votes (5.1%): the 100th-narrowest of 543 in England.
42,713 votes for candidates · majority 6,971
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 42,713 votes from 74,927 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 6,971 of 42,713 votes (16.3%): wider than in 58% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Herne Bay and Sandwich
48,827 votes for candidates · majority 2,499
Conservative, MP since 9 June 1983.
turnout in July 2024: 48,827 votes from 77,869 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 2,499 of 48,827 votes (5.1%): the 100th-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.
Margate’s Band D council tax is £2,441 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Thanet District Council keeps £279.15 of a Band D bill (11%); the rest goes to Margate Charter Trustees, 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 £2,452 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Thanet’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,600.79 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £528.75 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Thanet, 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
| Thanet + Kent | Margate’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) | £48 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £145 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £47 | £49 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £19 | £29 | £26 |
| Public health | £58 | £61 | £78 |
| Running the council | £70 | £74 | £59 |
| Other | £-12 | £6 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,199 | £1,200 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Thanet 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 Margate 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.
thanet.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
thanet.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Margate is run
Which council runs Margate?
The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Margate have a town council?
Parts of it do: Birchington parish council and Westgate-on-Sea parish council.
Who is the MP for Margate?
Margate is split between 2 constituencies: East Thanet (Ms Polly Billington, Labour) and Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale, Conservative). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Margate have?
25 ward councillors represent Margate’s 10 wards, and 4 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Margate?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Margate’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Margate?
Band D council tax in Margate is £2,452 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Thanet District Council?
Labour has a majority: 30 of 56 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 Margate?
In Margate’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 13 · Conservative 9 · Thanet Independents 3 of the 25 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 40.6%.
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.