Penwortham Hall (Incorporating Penwortham Lodge) · Photo: Martinevans123 · CC BY-SA 3.0Labour holds a majority on South Ribble Borough Council
Penwortham is run by South Ribble Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, with Penwortham parish council for local matters. Labour has a majority on South Ribble Borough Council. Reform UK has a majority on Lancashire County Council. Its MP is Mr Paul Foster (Labour), member for South Ribble.
£2,464
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Penwortham’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on South Ribble Borough Council
Labour holds a majority on South Ribble Borough Council: 28 of its 50 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 17, the Liberal Democrats 5. 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 Penwortham is £2,464 for 2026–27; South Ribble Borough Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 51% 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 Penwortham’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 26 of South Ribble’s 50 or 43 of Lancashire’s 84 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour28
- Conservative17
- Liberal Democrat5
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
Penwortham 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 Penwortham’s residents · Band D precept £34
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 Penwortham, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierPenwortham parish council
- 2South Ribble Borough Council4 wards · 10 councillorsLiberal Democrat 6 · Labour 5 · Conservative 1 · all 12
- 3Lancashire County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsDavid HowarthLorenzo More
- 4Police and crime commissionerLancashire Constabulary · elected May 2024Clive Grunshaw
- 5House of CommonsSouth Ribble
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.
10 councillors for 4 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.
- Joan Mary BurrowsConservative · October 2024 · by-election
- Will AdamsLabour · May 2023
- Keith MartinLabour · May 2023
- James Michael FlanneryLabour · May 2023
- David HowarthLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- James Edward LillisLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- David Charles ShawLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Clare Burton-JohnsonLiberal Democrat · December 2025 · by-election
- Harold George HancockLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Angela TurnerLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Deborah Jane AshtonLabour · May 2023
- Ian Danny WatkinsonLabour · May 2023
Show as a table, with Lancashire County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middleforthall in Penwortham · 7,386 residents3 seats · October 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Joan Mary Burrowsby-electionWill AdamsKeith MartinJames Michael Flannery | October 2024, May 2023 |
| Howick & Prioryall in Penwortham · 7,234 residents3 seats · May 2023 | 3 | David HowarthJames Edward LillisDavid Charles Shaw | May 2023 |
| Broad Oakall in Penwortham · 3,993 residents2 seats · December 2025, May 2023 | 2 | Clare Burton-Johnsonby-electionHarold George HancockAngela Turner | December 2025, May 2023 |
| Charnock47% in Penwortham · 1,876 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Deborah Jane AshtonIan Danny Watkinson | May 2023 |
Lancashire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penwortham West EDall in Penwortham · 18,613 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | David Howarth | May 2025 |
| Penwortham East & Walton-le-Dale ED22% in Penwortham · 1,876 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Lorenzo More | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. South Ribble 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).
South Ribble council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Penwortham, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
4 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Penwortham’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,764 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
6,042 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
2,588 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Every ward’s result (1 more)
1,874 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Penwortham is in South Ribble constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Penwortham).
46,720 votes for candidates · majority 6,501
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 46,720 votes from 73,420 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 6,501 of 46,720 votes (13.9%): wider than in 50% 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.
Penwortham’s Band D council tax is £2,464 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
South Ribble Borough Council keeps £241.28 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Penwortham parish council, Lancashire County Council, the Lancashire police and crime commissioner and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
South Ribble’s Band D bill has risen 51% in ten years, from £1,620.16 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £604.13 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Penwortham, 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
| South Ribble + Lancashire | Penwortham’s councils | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £522 | £533 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £249 | £295 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £44 | £44 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £18 | £24 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £131 | £135 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £50 | £56 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £40 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £78 | £92 | £78 |
| Running the council | £80 | £73 | £59 |
| Other | £4 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,216 | £1,281 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: South Ribble 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 Penwortham 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.
southribble.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
southribble.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Penwortham is run
Which council runs Penwortham?
Penwortham is run by South Ribble Borough Council and Lancashire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Penwortham have a town council?
Yes: Penwortham has its own parish-tier council (Penwortham parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £34 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Penwortham?
Mr Paul Foster (Labour) is the MP for South Ribble, which covers Penwortham.
How many councillors does Penwortham have?
10 ward councillors represent Penwortham’s 4 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Penwortham?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Penwortham’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Penwortham?
Band D council tax in Penwortham is £2,464 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls South Ribble Borough Council?
Labour has a majority: 28 of 50 seats as elected. 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 Penwortham?
In Penwortham’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 5 · Liberal Democrat 5 of the 10 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 47.4%.
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.