Photo: Alan Murray-Rust · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Melton Borough Council
Old Dalby is run by Melton Borough Council and Leicestershire County Council, with Broughton and Old Dalby parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on either Melton Borough Council or Leicestershire County Council. Its MP is Edward Argar (Conservative), member for Melton and Syston.
£2,445
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Old Dalby’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Melton Borough Council
No party holds a majority on Melton Borough Council. The Conservatives, the largest group, hold 12 of its 28 seats as elected, 3 short of the 15 needed. Independents hold 9, Labour 6 and the Liberal Democrats 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Leicestershire changed hands in 2025
Leicestershire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (41 of 55 seats in 2021) to no overall control at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 24 of 55 seats. Leicestershire ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Old Dalby is £2,445 for 2026–27; Melton Borough Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 53% 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.
No party has a majority on either council
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 15 of Melton’s 28 or 28 of Leicestershire’s 55 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative12
- Independent9
- Labour6
- Liberal Democrat1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK24+24
- Conservative15−26
- Liberal Democrat11+1
- Labour3−1
- Green1+1
- Independent1+1
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
Old Dalby 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 Old Dalby’s residents · Band D precept £61
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗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 Old Dalby, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierBroughton and Old Dalby parish council
- 2Melton Borough Council1 ward · 1 councillorJoe Orson
- 3Leicestershire County Council1 division · 1 councillorJoe Orson
- 4Police and crime commissionerLeicestershire Police · elected May 2024Rupert Matthews
- 5House of CommonsMelton and Syston
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.
- Joe OrsonConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Leicestershire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Dalby17% in Old Dalby · 332 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Joe Orson | May 2023 |
Leicestershire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melton Wolds ED3% in Old Dalby · 332 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Joe Orson | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Melton 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).
Melton council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Old Dalby, 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 Old Dalby’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗616 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Old Dalby is in Melton and Syston constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Old Dalby).
45,986 votes for candidates · majority 5,396
Conservative, MP since 7 May 2015.
turnout in July 2024: 45,986 votes from 74,316 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,396 of 45,986 votes (11.7%): the 227th-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.
Old Dalby’s Band D council tax is £2,445 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Melton Borough Council keeps £244.88 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Broughton and Old Dalby parish council, Leicestershire County Council, the Leicestershire police and crime commissioner and the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Melton’s Band D bill has risen 53% in ten years, from £1,589.08 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £505.13 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Broughton and Old Dalby, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Leicestershire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,200.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Leicestershire
| Melton + Leicestershire | Old Dalby’s councils | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £389 | £462 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £239 | £262 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £72 | £64 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £38 | £42 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £125 | £110 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £28 | £35 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £38 | £22 | £26 |
| Public health | £46 | £66 | £78 |
| Running the council | £59 | £58 | £59 |
| Other | £71 | £41 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,108 | £1,161 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Melton per its residents plus Leicestershire 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. Leicestershire 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 Old Dalby 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.
melton.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
melton.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Old Dalby is run
Which council runs Old Dalby?
Old Dalby is run by Melton Borough Council and Leicestershire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Old Dalby have a town council?
Yes: Old Dalby has its own parish-tier council (Broughton and Old Dalby parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £61 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Old Dalby?
Edward Argar (Conservative) is the MP for Melton and Syston, which covers Old Dalby.
How many councillors does Old Dalby have?
1 ward councillors represent Old Dalby’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Old Dalby?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Old Dalby’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Old Dalby?
Band D council tax in Old Dalby is £2,445 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Melton Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Conservative 12 · Independent 9 · Labour 6 · Liberal Democrat 1 of 28 seats; a majority needs 15. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Leicestershire County Council?
As elected, Reform UK 24 · Conservative 15 · Liberal Democrat 11 · Labour 3 · Green 1 · Independent 1 of 55 seats; a majority needs 28.
Who won the 2023 council election in Old Dalby?
In Old Dalby’s wards on 4 May 2023, Conservative 1 of the 1 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 56.7%.
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.