Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Preston City Council
Cottam is run by Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council, with Lea parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Preston City Council. Reform UK has a majority on Lancashire County Council. Most of Cottam is in Preston (MP Sir Mark Hendrick, Labour); 34% of residents are in Ribble Valley (MP Maya Ellis, Labour).
£2,603
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Cottam’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 Cottam’s wards, the Liberal Democrats took 38.7%, Reform UK took 32% and the Conservatives took 14.1% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Liberal Democrats had 45.7%. How Cottam has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Cottam is £2,612 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 Cottam’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of Preston’s 48 or 43 of Lancashire’s 84 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour23
- Liberal Democrat15
- Reform UK5
- Conservative3
- Green2
Latest election: May 2026.
- 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
Cottam 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.
66% of Cottam’s residents · Band D precept £48
The parish council for the part of Cottam inside Woodplumpton parish.
Who runs Cottam: same source as Who runs Cottam, 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 Cottam, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsLea parish councilWoodplumpton parish council
- 2Preston City Council2 wards · 6 councillorsNeil DarbyBen WardJohn RutterStephen Geoffrey ThompsonDaniel GuiseSue Whittam
- 3Lancashire County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsJohn PotterMaria Jones
- 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.
6 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.
- Neil DarbyLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Ben WardLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- John RutterLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Stephen Geoffrey ThompsonReform UK · May 2026
- Daniel GuiseLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Sue WhittamConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Lancashire County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingol & Cottam39% in Cottam · 3,616 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Neil DarbyBen WardJohn Rutter | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Preston Rural North27% in Cottam · 1,891 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Stephen Geoffrey ThompsonDaniel GuiseSue Whittam | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
Lancashire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preston West ED39% in Cottam · 3,616 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | John Potter | May 2025 |
| Preston Rural ED12% in Cottam · 1,891 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Maria Jones | 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 Cottam’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% | 8.6% |
| Labour | 20.6% | 19.1% | 19.4% | 17.4% | 6.7% |
| Liberal Democrat | 24.9% | 40.1% | 43.5% | 45.7% | 38.7% |
| Conservative | 54.5% | 40.8% | 37.1% | 31.5% | 14.1% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5.4% | 32% |
In 2026, the Liberal Democrats won 1 and Reform UK won 1 of the 2 seats up in Cottam’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 Cottam, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
2 wards voted. Preston elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Cottam’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,752 votes for candidates
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.
Cottam is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 23 November 2000
66% of Cottam’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 52% (England 60%).
Majority 5,291 of 39,993 votes (13.2%): the 259th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
34% of Cottam’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.
39,993 votes for candidates · majority 5,291
Labour, MP since 23 November 2000.
turnout in July 2024: 39,993 votes from 77,400 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,291 of 39,993 votes (13.2%): the 259th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Ribble Valley
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.
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.
Cottam’s Band D council tax is £2,612 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 Lea 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 £2,603 (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 Lea, 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 | Cottam’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 Cottam 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 Cottam is run
Which council runs Cottam?
Cottam is run by Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Cottam have a town council?
Yes: Cottam has its own parish-tier council (Lea parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £48 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Cottam?
Cottam is split between 2 constituencies: Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick, Labour) and Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Cottam have?
6 ward councillors represent Cottam’s 2 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Cottam?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Cottam’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Cottam?
Band D council tax in Cottam is £2,603 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 Lancashire County Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 53 of 84 seats as elected.
Who won the 2026 council election in Cottam?
In Cottam’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 1 · Reform UK 1 of the 2 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 38.7%.
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.