Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Preston City Council
Barton is run by Preston City Council, Wyre Council and Lancashire County Council, with Barton parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Preston City Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Wyre Council. Reform UK has a majority on Lancashire County Council. Most of Barton is in Ribble Valley (MP Maya Ellis, Labour); 14% of residents are in Lancaster and Wyre (MP Cat Smith, Labour).
£2,585
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Barton’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Preston City Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 23 of its 48 seats as elected, 2 short of the 25 needed. The Liberal Democrats hold 15, Reform UK 5, the Conservatives 3 and the Greens 2. Who’s in charge ↓
Lancashire changed hands in 2025
Lancashire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (47 of 84 seats in 2021) to a Reform UK majority at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 53 of 84 seats. Lancashire ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Barton’s wards, Reform UK took 34.1%, the Liberal Democrats took 32.3% and the Conservatives took 17.8% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Reform UK had 0%. How Barton has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Barton is £2,603 for 2026–27; Preston City Council keeps 14% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 52% 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 Barton’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of Preston’s 48 or 26 of Wyre’s 50 or 43 of Lancashire’s 84 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour23
- Liberal Democrat15
- Reform UK5
- Conservative3
- Green2
Latest election: May 2026.
- Conservative29
- Labour16
- Independent3
- Reform UK2
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK53+53
- Conservative8−39
- Independent7+7
- Labour5−28
- Liberal Democrat5+3
- Green4+2
- Our West Lancashire2+2
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
Barton 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.
86% of Barton’s residents · Band D precept £39
The parish council for the part of Barton inside Myerscough and Bilsborrow parish.
Who runs Barton: same source as Who runs Barton, above.
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
86% of Barton’s residents
Website ↗Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Who runs Barton: same source as Who runs Barton, above.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas.
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 Barton, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsBarton parish councilMyerscough and Bilsborrow parish council
- 2Council wards2 wards · 5 councillorsStephen Geoffrey ThompsonDaniel GuiseSue WhittamDaniel James BoltonDavid Swift
- 3Lancashire County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsMaria JonesJames David Tomlinson
- 4Police and crime commissionerLancashire Constabulary · elected May 2024Clive Grunshaw
- 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.
5 councillors for 2 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.
- Stephen Geoffrey ThompsonReform UK · May 2026
- Daniel GuiseLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Sue WhittamConservative · May 2023
- Daniel James BoltonConservative · May 2023
- David SwiftConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Lancashire County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preston Rural NorthPreston · 18% in Barton · 1,278 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Stephen Geoffrey ThompsonDaniel GuiseSue Whittam | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Brock with CatterallWyre · 4% in Barton · 214 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Daniel James BoltonDavid Swift | May 2023 |
Lancashire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preston Rural ED8% in Barton · 1,278 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Maria Jones | May 2025 |
| Wyre Rural East ED1% in Barton · 214 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | James David Tomlinson | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Preston City 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).
Who led each council vote, 2021–2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Barton’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 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 8.5% |
| Labour | 22.3% | 24.8% | 24.3% | 16.8% | 7.3% |
| Liberal Democrat | 11.6% | 19.2% | 19.5% | 47.9% | 32.3% |
| Conservative | 66.1% | 56% | 56.2% | 35.3% | 17.8% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 34.1% |
In 2026, Reform UK won 1 of the 1 seats up in Barton’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.
Preston council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Barton, 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 Barton’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,886 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Barton 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
86% of Barton’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 65% (England 60%).
Majority 856 of 52,023 votes (1.6%): the 31st-narrowest of 543 in England.
Labour, MP since 7 May 2015
14% of Barton’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 58% (England 60%).
Majority 9,253 of 43,008 votes (21.5%): wider than in 70% of England’s 543 constituencies.
52,023 votes for candidates · majority 856
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 52,023 votes from 80,484 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 856 of 52,023 votes (1.6%): the 31st-narrowest of 543 in England.
Lancaster and Wyre
43,008 votes for candidates · majority 9,253
Labour, MP since 7 May 2015.
turnout in July 2024: 43,008 votes from 74,760 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 9,253 of 43,008 votes (21.5%): wider than in 70% 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.
Barton’s Band D council tax is £2,603 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Preston City Council keeps £375.34 of a Band D bill (14%); the rest goes to the Barton parish council, Lancashire County Council, the Lancashire police and crime commissioner and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,585 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Preston’s Band D bill has risen 52% in ten years, from £1,698.10 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £652.50 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Barton, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Lancashire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included; the 11 nearest of 14. Bars start at £2,200.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Lancashire
| Preston + Lancashire | Barton’s councils | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £522 | £533 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £249 | £295 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £47 | £44 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £38 | £24 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £134 | £135 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £60 | £56 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £41 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £78 | £92 | £78 |
| Running the council | £91 | £73 | £59 |
| Other | £5 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,264 | £1,281 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Preston per its residents plus Lancashire 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. Lancashire 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 Barton 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.
preston.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
preston.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Barton is run
Which council runs Barton?
Barton is run by Preston City Council, Wyre Council and Lancashire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Barton have a town council?
Yes: Barton has its own parish-tier council (Barton parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £39 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Barton?
Barton is split between 2 constituencies: Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis, Labour) and Lancaster and Wyre (Cat Smith, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Barton have?
5 ward councillors represent Barton’s 2 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Barton?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Barton’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Barton?
Band D council tax in Barton is £2,585 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Preston City Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 23 · Liberal Democrat 15 · Reform UK 5 · Conservative 3 · Green 2 of 48 seats; a majority needs 25. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Wyre Council?
The Conservatives have a majority: 29 of 50 seats as elected.
Who won the 2026 council election in Barton?
In Barton’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 1 of the 1 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 34.1%.
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.