Ashlar House and Ashlar Cottage · Photo: Trappedinburnley · CC BY-SA 4.0No party holds a majority on Pendle Borough Council
Fence is run by Pendle Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, with Old Laund Booth parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Pendle Borough Council. Reform UK has a majority on Lancashire County Council. Its MP is Jonathan Hinder (Labour), member for Pendle and Clitheroe.
£2,544
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Fence’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Pendle Borough Council
Independents, the largest group, hold 9 of its 34 seats as elected, 9 short of the 18 needed. The Liberal Democrats hold 8, the Conservatives 8, Reform UK 5 and Labour 4. 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 2024 vote
Across Fence’s wards, the Liberal Democrats took 53.9% and the Conservatives took 46.1% of votes in May 2024. In 2021, the Liberal Democrats had 51.5%. How Fence has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Fence is £2,544 for 2026–27; Pendle Borough Council keeps 12% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 55% 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 Fence’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 18 of Pendle’s 34 or 43 of Lancashire’s 84 seats to run the council alone.
- Independent9
- Conservative8
- Liberal Democrat8
- Reform UK5
- Labour4
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
Fence 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 Fence’s residents · Band D precept £38
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 Fence, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierOld Laund Booth parish council
- 2Pendle Borough Council1 ward · 1 councillorBrian Newman
- 3Lancashire County Council1 division · 1 councillorHoward Hartley
- 4Police and crime commissionerLancashire Constabulary · elected May 2024Clive Grunshaw
- 5House of CommonsPendle and Clitheroe
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.
1 councillor 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.
- Brian NewmanLiberal Democrat · May 2024
Show as a table, with Lancashire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fence & Highammostly in Fence · 1,585 residents1 seat · May 2024 | 1 | Brian Newman | May 2024 |
Lancashire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pendle Hill ED9% in Fence · 1,585 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Howard Hartley | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Pendle 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 2021
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Fence’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 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat | 51.5% | 53.9% |
| Conservative | 48.5% | 46.1% |
In 2024, the Liberal Democrats won 1 of the 1 seats up in Fence’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.
Pendle council election, May 2024
Results in the wards that make up Fence, 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 Fence’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗820 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Fence is in Pendle and Clitheroe constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Fence).
46,754 votes for candidates · majority 902
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 46,754 votes from 78,796 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 902 of 46,754 votes (1.9%): the 41st-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.
Fence’s Band D council tax is £2,544 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Pendle Borough Council keeps £316.71 of a Band D bill (12%); the rest goes to the Old Laund Booth parish council, Lancashire County Council, the Lancashire police and crime commissioner and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Pendle’s Band D bill has risen 55% in ten years, from £1,698.07 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £654.75 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Old Laund Booth, 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
| Pendle + Lancashire | Fence’s councils | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £522 | £533 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £249 | £295 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £48 | £44 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £18 | £24 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £135 | £135 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £40 | £56 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £33 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £78 | £92 | £78 |
| Running the council | £102 | £73 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,225 | £1,281 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Pendle 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 Fence 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.
pendle.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
pendle.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Fence is run
Which council runs Fence?
Fence is run by Pendle Borough Council and Lancashire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Fence have a town council?
Yes: Fence has its own parish-tier council (Old Laund Booth parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £38 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Fence?
Jonathan Hinder (Labour) is the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, which covers Fence.
How many councillors does Fence have?
1 ward councillors represent Fence’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Fence?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Fence’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Fence?
Band D council tax in Fence is £2,544 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Pendle Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Independent 9 · Liberal Democrat 8 · Conservative 8 · Reform UK 5 · Labour 4 of 34 seats; a majority needs 18. 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 2024 council election in Fence?
In Fence’s wards on 2 May 2024, Liberal Democrat 1 of the 1 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 53.9%.
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.