Photo: M J Roots · CC BY 3.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Paddock Wood is run by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Kent County Council, with Paddock Wood parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Reform UK has a majority on Kent County Council. Its MP is Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat), member for Tunbridge Wells.
£2,606
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Paddock Wood’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council: 26 of its 39 seats as elected (it held 22 before the May 2026 election). The Conservatives hold 7, Labour 3, Tunbridge Wells Alliance 2 and Independents for Tunbridge Wells 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 ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Paddock Wood’s wards, the Liberal Democrats took 39.4%, Reform UK took 29.1% and the Conservatives took 24.7% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Liberal Democrats had 42.1%. How Paddock Wood has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Paddock Wood is £2,606 for 2026–27; Tunbridge Wells Borough Council keeps 8% 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 Paddock Wood’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 20 of Tunbridge Wells’s 39 or 42 of Kent’s 82 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat26+4
- Conservative7no change
- Labour3−2
- Tunbridge Wells Alliance2−2
- Independents for Tunbridge Wells1no change
Change against the council before the 7 May 2026 election.
- 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
Paddock Wood 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 Paddock Wood’s residents · Band D precept £245
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 Paddock Wood, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierPaddock Wood parish council
- 2Tunbridge Wells Borough Council1 ward · 3 councillorsChristopher DigbyMark Gavin MundayDon KentAdrian Pitts
- 3Kent County Council1 division · 1 councillorMark Gavin Munday
- 4Police and crime commissionerKent Police · elected May 2024Matthew Scott
- 5House of CommonsTunbridge Wells
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.
- Christopher DigbyLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Mark Gavin MundayLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Don KentLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Adrian PittsLiberal Democrat · May 2024
Show as a table, with Kent County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paddock Woodmostly in Paddock Wood · 7,616 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024 | 3 | Christopher DigbyMark Gavin MundayDon KentAdrian Pitts | May 2026, May 2024 |
Kent County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunbridge Wells Rural ED29% in Paddock Wood · 7,616 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Mark Gavin Munday | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Tunbridge Wells 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).
The Liberal Democrats have led every council vote since 2024
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Paddock Wood’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 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| Liberal Democrat | 42.1% | 39.4% |
| Independent | 11% | 0% |
| Conservative | 31.7% | 24.7% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 29.1% |
| Independents for Tunbridge Wells | 6.1% | 0% |
In 2026, the Liberal Democrats won 1 of the 1 seats up in Paddock Wood’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.
Tunbridge Wells council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Paddock Wood, 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. Tunbridge Wells elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Paddock Wood’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,033 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Paddock Wood is in Tunbridge Wells constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Paddock Wood).
54,250 votes for candidates · majority 8,687
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 54,250 votes from 78,738 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 8,687 of 54,250 votes (16%): wider than in 57% 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.
Paddock Wood’s Band D council tax is £2,606 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council keeps £217.10 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Paddock Wood parish council, Kent County Council, the Kent police and crime commissioner and the Kent Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Tunbridge Wells’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,568.91 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £518.63 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Paddock Wood, 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
| Tunbridge Wells + Kent | Paddock Wood’s councils | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £505 | £492 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £262 | £266 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £39 | £49 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £29 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £108 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £56 | £49 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £41 | £29 | £26 |
| Public health | £58 | £61 | £78 |
| Running the council | £70 | £74 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £6 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,168 | £1,200 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Tunbridge Wells 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 Paddock Wood 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.
tunbridgewells.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
tunbridgewells.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Paddock Wood is run
Which council runs Paddock Wood?
Paddock Wood is run by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Kent County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Paddock Wood have a town council?
Yes: Paddock Wood has its own parish-tier council (Paddock Wood parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £245 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Paddock Wood?
Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Tunbridge Wells, which covers Paddock Wood.
How many councillors does Paddock Wood have?
3 ward councillors represent Paddock Wood’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Paddock Wood?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Paddock Wood’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Paddock Wood?
Band D council tax in Paddock Wood is £2,606 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Tunbridge Wells Borough Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 26 of 39 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 2026 council election in Paddock Wood?
In Paddock Wood’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 1 of the 1 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 39.4%.
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.