Photo: Mike Pennington · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Kirkby is run by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council. Labour has a majority on Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council. Most of Kirkby is in Knowsley (MP Anneliese Midgley, Labour); 6% of residents are in Sefton Central (MP Bill Esterson, Labour).
£2,457
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Kirkby’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Labour holds a majority on Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council: 25 of its 46 seats as elected. The Greens hold 7, independents 6, the Liberal Democrats 4 and Reform UK 4. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Kirkby’s wards, Labour took 35.4%, Reform UK took 29.5% and independents took 26.4% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, Labour had 68.9%. How Kirkby has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Kirkby is £2,448 for 2026–27; Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 83% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 59% 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 Kirkby’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 24 of Knowsley’s 46 or 34 of Sefton’s 66 seats to run the council alone.
- Labour25
- Green7
- Independent6
- Liberal Democrat4
- Reform UK4
Latest election: May 2026.
- Labour36
- Liberal Democrat17
- Lydiate and Maghull Community Independents5
- Reform UK5
- Green3
Latest election: May 2026.
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.
The councils that run Kirkby
One council runs every main service here.
The parish council for the part of Kirkby inside Melling parish.
6% of Kirkby’s residents · Band D precept £38
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
94% of Kirkby’s residents
Website ↗Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Who runs Kirkby: same source as Who runs Kirkby, above.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas.
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
94% of Kirkby’s residents live outside any parish, with no parish council.
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 Kirkby, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierMelling parish council
- 2Council wards5 wards · 13 councillorsLabour 8 · Independent 4 · Reform UK 1 · all 13
- 3Police and crime commissionerMerseyside Police · elected May 2024Emily Spurrell
- 4House 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.
13 councillors for 5 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.
- Alexander HitchmoughReform UK · May 2026
- Matthew RawlinsonLabour · May 2024
- Marie Ellen StuartLabour · May 2023
- Steve GuyIndependent · May 2026
- Aimee WrightLabour · May 2024
- Tony BrennanLabour · May 2023
- David HitchmoughIndependent · May 2026
- Brian JohnsIndependent · May 2026
- Steve SmithIndependent · May 2024
- Gary Paul BennettLabour · May 2023
- Marion AtkinsonLabour · May 2026
- Danny BurnsLabour · May 2026
- Sam HindeLabour · May 2026
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| NorthwoodKnowsley · all in Kirkby · 11,866 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Alexander HitchmoughMatthew RawlinsonMarie Ellen Stuart | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| ShevingtonKnowsley · all in Kirkby · 10,941 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Steve GuyAimee WrightTony Brennan | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| CherryfieldKnowsley · all in Kirkby · 10,437 residents1 seat · May 2026 | 1 | David Hitchmough | May 2026 |
| WhitefieldKnowsley · all in Kirkby · 9,759 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Brian JohnsSteve SmithGary Paul Bennett | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
| Aintree & Maghull SouthSefton · 21% in Kirkby · 2,556 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Marion AtkinsonDanny BurnsSam Hinde | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Knowsley Metropolitan 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).
Labour has led every council vote since 2021
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Kirkby’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 | 7.1% | 2.5% | 10.9% | 10.8% | 3.4% |
| Labour | 67.7% | 65% | 71.9% | 68.9% | 35.4% |
| Independent | 14.4% | 24.2% | 14.1% | 16.7% | 26.4% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 29.5% |
| Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition | 5.4% | 7.5% | 2.3% | 3.6% | 2% |
In 2026, Labour won 3, independents won 3 and Reform UK won 1 of the 7 seats up in Kirkby’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.
Knowsley council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Kirkby, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
5 wards voted. Not every seat in the town’s wards was up this time.
No election is scheduled yet for Kirkby’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,112 votes for candidates
2,259 votes for candidates
2,032 votes for candidates
Every ward’s result (2 more)
2,247 votes for candidates
12,045 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.
Kirkby is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
94% of Kirkby’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 50% (England 60%).
Majority 18,319 of 36,047 votes (50.8%): wider than in 99% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Labour, MP since 6 May 2010
6% of Kirkby’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 64% (England 60%).
Majority 18,282 of 47,449 votes (38.5%): wider than in 95% of England’s 543 constituencies.
36,047 votes for candidates · majority 18,319
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 36,047 votes from 71,964 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 18,319 of 36,047 votes (50.8%): wider than in 99% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Sefton Central
47,449 votes for candidates · majority 18,282
Labour, MP since 6 May 2010.
turnout in July 2024: 47,449 votes from 74,284 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 18,282 of 47,449 votes (38.5%): wider than in 95% 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.
Kirkby’s Band D council tax is £2,448 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £2,028.94 of a Band D bill (83%); the rest goes to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the Merseyside police and crime commissioner and the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,457 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Knowsley’s Band D bill has risen 59% in ten years, from £1,561.61 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £672.75 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Knowsley, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Merseyside’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,300.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Merseyside
| Knowsley | Kirkby’s councils | Merseyside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £652 | £572 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £487 | £355 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £97 | £19 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £39 | £73 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £95 | £73 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £55 | £60 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £173 | £54 | £26 |
| Public health | £140 | £122 | £78 |
| Running the council | £49 | £59 | £59 |
| Other | £138 | £41 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,924 | £1,428 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Merseyside 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 Kirkby 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.
knowsley.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
knowsley.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Kirkby is run
Does Kirkby have a town council?
Parts of it do: Melling parish council.
Who is the MP for Kirkby?
Kirkby is split between 2 constituencies: Knowsley (Anneliese Midgley, Labour) and Sefton Central (Bill Esterson, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Kirkby have?
13 ward councillors represent Kirkby’s 5 wards.
When are the next elections in Kirkby?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Kirkby’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Kirkby?
Band D council tax in Kirkby is £2,457 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council?
Labour has a majority: 25 of 46 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Kirkby?
In Kirkby’s wards on 7 May 2026, Labour 3 · Independent 3 · Reform UK 1 of the 7 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 35.4%.
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.