Photo: Mike Pennington · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Lancaster City Council
Carnforth is run by Lancaster City Council and Lancashire County Council, with Carnforth parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Lancaster City Council. Reform UK has a majority on Lancashire County Council. Its MP is Lizzi Collinge (Labour), member for Morecambe and Lunesdale.
£2,559
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Carnforth’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Lancaster City Council
Labour, the largest group, holds 23 of its 61 seats as elected, 8 short of the 31 needed. The Greens hold 22, the Liberal Democrats 7, the Conservatives 5, Morecambe Bay Independents 3 and independents 1. 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 ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Carnforth is £2,567 for 2026–27; Lancaster City Council keeps 11% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 54% 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 Carnforth’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 31 of Lancaster’s 61 or 43 of Lancashire’s 84 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour23
- Green22
- Liberal Democrat7
- Conservative5
- Morecambe Bay Independents3
- Independent1
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
Carnforth 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.
91% of Carnforth’s residents · Band D precept £106
The parish council for the part of Carnforth inside Warton parish.
Who runs Carnforth: same source as Who runs Carnforth, 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 ↗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 Carnforth, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsCarnforth parish councilWarton parish council
- 2Lancaster City Council1 ward · 3 councillorsJackson StubbsPaul Malcolm GardnerLouise BelcherChris Hanna
- 3Lancashire County Council1 division · 1 councillorGraham John Dalton
- 4Police and crime commissionerLancashire Constabulary · elected May 2024Clive Grunshaw
- 5House of CommonsMorecambe and Lunesdale
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.
- Jackson StubbsLabour · May 2024 · by-election
- Paul Malcolm GardnerLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Louise BelcherLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
- Chris HannaLabour and Co-operative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Lancashire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnforth & Millheadall in Carnforth · 5,852 residents3 seats · May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Jackson Stubbsby-electionPaul Malcolm GardnerLouise BelcherChris Hanna | May 2024, May 2023 |
Lancashire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster Rural North ED38% in Carnforth · 5,852 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Graham John Dalton | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Lancaster 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).
Lancaster council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Carnforth, 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 Carnforth’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,743 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Carnforth is in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Carnforth).
48,059 votes for candidates · majority 5,815
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 48,059 votes from 76,424 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,815 of 48,059 votes (12.1%): the 235th-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.
Carnforth’s Band D council tax is £2,567 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Lancaster City Council keeps £272.20 of a Band D bill (11%); the rest goes to the Carnforth 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 £2,559 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Lancaster’s Band D bill has risen 54% in ten years, from £1,625.29 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £615.38 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Carnforth, 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
| Lancaster + Lancashire | Carnforth’s councils | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £522 | £533 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £249 | £295 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £30 | £44 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £34 | £24 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £142 | £135 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £58 | £56 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £37 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £78 | £92 | £78 |
| Running the council | £74 | £73 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,223 | £1,281 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Lancaster 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 Carnforth 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.
lancaster.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
lancaster.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Carnforth is run
Which council runs Carnforth?
Carnforth is run by Lancaster City Council and Lancashire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Carnforth have a town council?
Yes: Carnforth has its own parish-tier council (Carnforth parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £106 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Carnforth?
Lizzi Collinge (Labour) is the MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, which covers Carnforth.
How many councillors does Carnforth have?
3 ward councillors represent Carnforth’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Carnforth?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Carnforth’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Carnforth?
Band D council tax in Carnforth is £2,559 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Lancaster City Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 23 · Green 22 · Liberal Democrat 7 · Conservative 5 · Morecambe Bay Independents 3 · Independent 1 of 61 seats; a majority needs 31. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Lancashire County Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 53 of 84 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Carnforth?
In Carnforth’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 3 of the 3 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 47.8%.
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.