Photo: Linda Bailey · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Mid Ulster District Council
Cookstown is run by Mid Ulster District Council, its only council: Northern Ireland has one tier of local government. No party holds a majority; Sinn Féin has the most seats, 19 of 40. Its MP is Mr Cathal Mallaghan (Sinn Féin), member for Mid Ulster. At Stormont, Mid Ulster elects five MLAs: 3 Sinn Féin, 1 DUP and 1 SDLP.
May 2027
Council and Assembly elections are both due.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland ↗How Cookstown is run, in two numbers
No party holds a majority
In May 2023 Sinn Féin won the most seats on Mid Ulster District Council, 19 of 40, short of the 21 a majority needs. It ran 21 candidates across the council’s seven district electoral areas and 19 were elected. Who’s in charge ↓
One council area
All of Cookstown is in the Cookstown district electoral area. Cookstown elected 3 Sinn Féin, 2 DUP, 1 SDLP and 1 UUP from 11 candidates; Chris Hillcox (Alliance), Louise Taylor (Independent), Mark Glasgow (UUP), Timothy Hagan (TUV) were not elected. Turnout there was 61%, 16th of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas. Councillors ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results, the UK Parliament Members API, and Land & Property Services and Department of Finance rates.
Seats on Mid Ulster District Council by party, May 2023
Seats on Mid Ulster District Council, as elected in May 2023, and how the other ten councils compare.
- Sinn Féin1921 stood
- DUP1111 stood
- SDLP57 stood
- Independent36 stood
- UUP27 stood
As elected on 18 May 2023, with each party’s candidates.
A party needs 21 of the 40 seats to outvote the rest. No party has that: Sinn Féin is largest with 19. Northern Ireland’s councils share out the chair, deputy chair and committee chairs among the parties in proportion to their seats, so the council is run by several parties together. DUP is second with 11 seats, from 11 candidates.
Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Seats by party as elected in May 2023, largest party named. Only one of the 11 has a single-party majority.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who was elected at each count. A councillor who stands down is replaced by co-option from the same party.
One council, and Stormont for the rest
Cookstown has no county council and no town or parish council: since 2015 Northern Ireland has had 11 councils, each the only council for its area.
Bins and recycling, leisure centres, parks and cemeteries, local planning, building control, environmental health, licensing, tourism and local economic development, and the community plan.
www.midulstercouncil.org ↗Its departments run what English county councils do and more: schools (the Education Authority), health and social care, roads and street lighting (DfI Roads), and housing (the Northern Ireland Housing Executive). It also sets the regional rate.
northernireland.gov.uk ↗NI Water supplies water and sewerage (paid for through the rates, not a separate bill), Libraries NI runs the libraries, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland the police, overseen by the Policing Board.
Who to ask
Green: the council. Gold: a Stormont department or one of its agencies. Gray: another public body. The police district shares the council’s boundary, so Mid Ulster’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership covers the same ground as the council.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Cookstown, from the most recent elections. Sinn Féin’s MPs, Mid Ulster’s included, don’t take their seats at Westminster.
- 1Mid Ulster District Council1 district electoral area · 7 councillorsSinn Féin 3 · DUP 2 · SDLP 1 · UUP 1 · all 7
- 2Northern Ireland AssemblyMid Ulster · 5 MLAsEmma SheerinKeith BuchananLinda DillonMichelle O'NeillPatsy McGlone
- 3House of CommonsMid Ulster
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own.
7 councillors represent Cookstown
- Cathal Mallaghan
- Eva Cahoon
- Gavin Bell
- John Fitzgerald McNamee
- Kerri Martin
- Trevor Wilson
- Wilbert Buchanan
Also stood: Chris Hillcox (Alliance), Louise Taylor (Independent), Mark Glasgow (UUP), Timothy Hagan (TUV).
Each district electoral area elects five to seven councillors by single transferable vote: voters number the candidates in order, and a candidate who reaches the quota is elected, with spare votes passed on to the next preference. An area can reach beyond the town. A councillor who stands down is replaced by their party (co-option), so the names can change without an election.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who stood and who was elected on 18 May 2023. Democracy Club. First-preference votes and turnout: How Cookstown voted ↓
First preferences in Cookstown, May 2023
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 1,287. Elected candidates are in bold.
First-preference share by party
The tick is the party’s share across all 80 areas in 2023.
10,433 of Cookstown’s 17,175 voters turned out, 60.8%, 5th of Mid Ulster’s seven areas (council 64.6%) and 16th of Northern Ireland’s 80 (average 54.7%). With 10,288 valid votes and seven seats the quota was 1,287. Cathal Mallaghan and John Fitzgerald McNamee passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: 2023 result sheets and turnout by district electoral area (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Votes are first preferences at the first count.
Who stood, and who was elected
Every candidate for Mid Ulster District Council, by party: the light bar is candidates, the solid bar those elected.
Share of candidates elected, Northern Ireland
Parties with 10 or more candidates across all 11 councils.
66 candidates stood for 40 seats across Mid Ulster District Council in May 2023, 1.7 for each seat (Northern Ireland: 1.75). By candidates per seat, Cookstown ranked 63rd (11 for 7) of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas, where 1st is the most contested. Sinn Féin elected 19 of its 21 candidates; DUP won 11 of 11 and SDLP won 5 of 7.
The 2023 council election: same source as Councillors, above. Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0): candidates and who was elected, 18 May 2023, all 80 district electoral areas.
Cookstown is in Mid Ulster for the Assembly
Five MLAs for each of 18 constituencies, elected by single transferable vote. A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so names may have changed. The Assembly’s constituencies are the Westminster ones as they were before 2024.
Also stood (9): Alixandra Halliday (Aontú), Claire Hackett (Alliance), Conor Rafferty (The Resume Party (NI)), Glenn Moore (TUV), Hugh Scullion (Workers Party), Meta Graham (UUP), Patrick Haughey (Independent), Sophia McFeely (People Before Profit), Stefan Taylor (Green).
Mid Ulster elected 3 Sinn Féin, 1 DUP and 1 SDLP from 14 candidates. Across Northern Ireland Sinn Féin won the most seats (27), the first time a nationalist party had done so, ahead of the DUP (25) and Alliance (17). The Executive is formed by the parties in proportion to their seats, and the First Minister and deputy First Minister, from the largest parties on each side, hold equal power.
- Sinn Féin27
- DUP25
- Alliance17
- UUP9
- SDLP8
- Independent2
- TUV1
- People Before Profit1
First preferences in Mid Ulster, May 2022
52,274 of 75,168 voters turned out, 69.5%, 1st of 18 (Northern Ireland 63.6%). The quota for five seats was 8,615. Only Michelle O'Neill passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats.
Assembly: same source as Councillors, above. Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), candidates and who was elected, 5 May 2022, all 18 constituencies; first preferences and turnout: Electoral Office for Northern Ireland result sheets (Crown copyright, OGL v3.0); constituencies: ONS Westminster constituencies, December 2022 boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Cookstown is in Mid Ulster constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result. Westminster elections are first past the post, so these have vote shares.
45,445 votes for candidates · majority 14,923
Sinn Féin, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 45,445 votes from 74,000 registered voters. Northern Ireland: 57%.
Majority 14,923 of 45,445 votes (32.8%): wider than in 78% of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
On more than one ballot
- Assembly 2022: not elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 1,047 votes
- Council 2023 · Cookstown: elected
- Westminster 2024: elected, 24,085 votes
- Assembly 2022: not elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 2,978 votes
- Assembly 2022: elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 9,162 votes
4 people stood for more than one of Cookstown’s three tiers between 2022 and 2024.
Turnout, July 2024
Votes cast over the electorate, Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies (average 57%).
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. Other ballots: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0).
An average rates bill of £1,218 in Mid Ulster
The 7th-lowest average of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils for 2026–27.
Where an average bill goes
Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, not council tax: the home’s capital value (what it would have sold for in January 2005) times the rate poundage. In Mid Ulster for 2026–27 that’s 0.9889p in the pound, so the average bill of £1,218 is a home valued at about £123,000. The council sets the district rate (0.4330p, the 2nd-lowest of the 11) and the Executive the regional rate (0.5559p, the same everywhere). This year the district rate rose 3.4% and the regional rate 5%.
Rates paid per home since 2020–21
Rates paid per home in Mid Ulster rose from £928 in 2020–21 to £1,168 in 2025–26, 26%, against 24% across Northern Ireland. The rates also pay for water and sewerage; there is no separate water bill. Housing Benefit and Rate Relief cover some or all of a bill on a low income, and Lone Pensioner Allowance takes 20% off for people 70 or over living alone.
2026–27 bill by the home’s 2005 value
Homes valued over £400,000 pay on £400,000. Land & Property Services publishes every home’s capital value.
Rates bills in Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Average domestic rates bill per home, 2026–27 (2025–26 payments at 2026–27 poundages).
Land & Property Services, domestic rates paid by council area 2020–21 to 2025–26; Department of Finance rate poundages (Open Government Licence v3.0). Not available as open data: what each council spends by service.
Having a say in how Cookstown is run
It takes about five minutes online; in Northern Ireland you need photo ID to vote at a polling station.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors, its MLAs and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗Potholes and broken pavements go to DfI Roads, not the council: nidirect has the form.
nidirect ↗Search applications near you on the Northern Ireland Planning Portal; commenting needs a free account.
nidirect ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
midulstercouncil.org ↗The council’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership holds public meetings with the local police.
midulstercouncil.org ↗Polling stations, postal votes and the free Electoral Identity Card.
Electoral Office for NI ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council and Assembly candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Cookstown is run
Which council runs Cookstown?
Cookstown is run by Mid Ulster District Council, one of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils. There is no county or town council; schools, health, roads and housing are run by the Executive’s departments and agencies.
Who controls Mid Ulster District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected in May 2023, Sinn Féin 19 · DUP 11 · SDLP 5 · Independent 3 · UUP 2 of 40 seats. Top posts are shared among the parties by size.
Who are Cookstown’s councillors?
Cookstown is in the Cookstown district electoral area, which elected Cathal Mallaghan (Sinn Féin), Eva Cahoon (DUP), Gavin Bell (Sinn Féin), John Fitzgerald McNamee (Sinn Féin), Kerri Martin (SDLP), Trevor Wilson (UUP), Wilbert Buchanan (DUP), all in May 2023.
Who is the MP for Cookstown?
Mr Cathal Mallaghan (Sinn Féin) is the MP for Mid Ulster, which covers Cookstown.
Is Mid Ulster a marginal seat?
No. The 2024 majority was 32.8% of votes cast, the 4th-widest of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
Who are the MLAs for Cookstown?
In May 2022 Mid Ulster elected Emma Sheerin (Sinn Féin), Keith Buchanan (DUP), Linda Dillon (Sinn Féin), Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin) and Patsy McGlone (SDLP). A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so check the Assembly’s website for who sits now.
Is there council tax in Cookstown?
No. Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, based on the home’s value in 2005; the average bill in Mid Ulster is about £1,218 a year for 2026–27, and it includes water.
How much are rates on a £100,000 home in Cookstown?
A home valued at £100,000 in January 2005 pays £989 a year in 2026–27: £433 to the council and £556 to the Executive.
How many candidates stood in Cookstown in 2023?
11 candidates stood for 7 seats in Cookstown.
When are the next elections in Cookstown?
The next council and Assembly elections are both due in May 2027. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
Sources: NISRA Census 2021 data zones and ONS constituency boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates and results (CC BY 4.0) · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · Land & Property Services and Department of Finance domestic rates (OGL 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.