Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0Labour holds a majority on Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Southport is run by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council. Labour has a majority on Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council. Southport is split between 3 parliamentary constituencies.
£2,563
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Southport’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Labour holds a majority on Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council: 36 of its 66 seats as elected. The Liberal Democrats hold 17, Reform UK 5, Lydiate and Maghull Community Independents 5 and the Greens 3. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Southport is £2,565 for 2026–27; Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 84% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 60% 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
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 34 of Sefton’s 66 seats to run the council alone.
- 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.
Two tiers of council, no parish tier
Southport has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
98% of Southport’s residents
Website ↗Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Who runs Southport: same source as Who runs Southport, above.
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.
98% of Southport is unparished: there is no parish or town council, so the council runs local matters itself and no parish precept is added to the bill.
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 council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Southport, from the most recent elections.
- 1Council wards7 wards · 21 councillorsLiberal Democrat 17 · Reform UK 4 · all 21
- 2Police and crime commissionerMerseyside Police · elected May 2024Emily Spurrell
- 3Police and crime commissionerLancashire Constabulary · elected May 2024Clive Grunshaw
- 4House of CommonsSplit between 3 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.
21 councillors for 7 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.
- John CostelloReform UK · May 2026
- Charles Robert DentonReform UK · May 2026
- Thomas SwaneyReform UK · May 2026
- John David PughLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Michael Paul BrahamLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Danny HowardLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Iain Brodie BrowneLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Simon John ShawLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Mike RyderReform UK · May 2026
- Lynne ThompsonLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Lesley DelvesLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Rowenna GibsonLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Anne CorbishleyLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Yaso SathiyLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Mike KirbyLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Leo Francis EvansLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Mike SammonLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Pat KeithLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- John DoddLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Daniel George LewisLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Lauren KeithLiberal Democrat · May 2026
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| NorwoodSefton · all in Southport · 14,822 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | John CostelloCharles Robert DentonThomas Swaney | May 2026 |
| Duke'sSefton · all in Southport · 14,376 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | John David PughMichael Paul BrahamDanny Howard | May 2026 |
| BirkdaleSefton · all in Southport · 14,016 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Iain Brodie BrowneSimon John ShawMike Ryder | May 2026 |
| AinsdaleSefton · all in Southport · 12,600 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Lynne ThompsonLesley DelvesRowenna Gibson | May 2026 |
| KewSefton · all in Southport · 12,578 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Anne CorbishleyYaso SathiyMike Kirby | May 2026 |
| CambridgeSefton · all in Southport · 12,522 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Leo Francis EvansMike SammonPat Keith | May 2026 |
| MeolsSefton · all in Southport · 12,064 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | John DoddDaniel George LewisLauren Keith | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Sefton 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).
Sefton council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Southport, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
7 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Southport’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗11,890 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
12,111 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
13,641 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Every ward’s result (4 more)
13,610 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
11,607 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
12,382 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
12,903 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.
Southport is split between 3 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
85% of Southport’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 61% (England 60%).
Majority 5,789 of 45,059 votes (12.8%): the 248th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Labour, MP since 6 May 2010
13% of Southport’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.
Labour, MP since 9 February 2023
2% of Southport’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 60% (England 60%).
Majority 13,625 of 44,200 votes (30.8%): wider than in 86% of England’s 543 constituencies.
45,059 votes for candidates · majority 5,789
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 45,059 votes from 73,641 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,789 of 45,059 votes (12.8%): the 248th-narrowest of 543 in England.
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.
West Lancashire
44,200 votes for candidates · majority 13,625
Labour, MP since 9 February 2023.
turnout in July 2024: 44,200 votes from 74,081 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 13,625 of 44,200 votes (30.8%): wider than in 86% 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.
Southport’s Band D council tax is £2,565 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £2,145.51 of a Band D bill (84%); 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 £2,563 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Sefton’s Band D bill has risen 60% in ten years, from £1,617.31 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £623.25 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Sefton, 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
| Sefton | Southport’s councils | Merseyside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £494 | £572 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £343 | £355 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £-19 | £19 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £40 | £73 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £71 | £73 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £37 | £60 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £45 | £54 | £26 |
| Public health | £104 | £122 | £78 |
| Running the council | £55 | £59 | £59 |
| Other | £1 | £41 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,170 | £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 Southport 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.
sefton.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
sefton.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Southport is run
Does Southport have a town council?
No. Southport is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Southport?
Southport is split between 3 constituencies: Southport (Patrick Hurley, Labour), Sefton Central (Bill Esterson, Labour) and West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Southport have?
21 ward councillors represent Southport’s 7 wards.
When are the next elections in Southport?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Southport’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Southport?
Band D council tax in Southport is £2,563 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council?
Labour has a majority: 36 of 66 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Southport?
In Southport’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 17 · Reform UK 4 of the 21 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 34.6%.
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.