Photo: Christine Matthews · CC BY-SA 2.0The Conservatives hold a majority on North Yorkshire Council
Harrogate is run by North Yorkshire Council, with Harrogate parish council for local matters. The Conservatives have a majority on North Yorkshire Council. Its MP is Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat), member for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
£2,514
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Harrogate’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on North Yorkshire Council
The Conservatives hold a majority on North Yorkshire Council: 46 of its 90 seats as elected. The Liberal Democrats hold 14, independents 13, Labour 11, the Greens 4, Reform UK 1 and The Liberal Party 1. Who’s in charge ↓
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 46 of North Yorkshire’s 90 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative46
- Liberal Democrat14
- Independent13
- Labour11
- Green4
- Reform UK1
- The Liberal Party1
Latest election: May 2022.
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 Harrogate
One council runs every main service here.
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.
95% of Harrogate’s residents · Band D precept £26
The parish council for the part of Harrogate inside Killinghall parish.
Who runs Harrogate: same source as Who runs Harrogate, above.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: David Skaith (Labour and Co-operative), elected May 2024
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
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 Harrogate, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsHarrogate parish councilKillinghall parish council
- 2North Yorkshire Council10 wards · 10 councillorsLiberal Democrat 6 · Conservative 4 · all 10
- 3Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Combined AuthorityYork and North Yorkshire Combined Authority · elected May 2024David Skaith
- 4Police and crime commissionerNorth Yorkshire Police · elected November 2021Zoe Metcalfe
- 5House of CommonsHarrogate and Knaresborough
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 10 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.
- Mike SchofieldLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Sam GibbsConservative · May 2022
- Chris AldredLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Philip Anthony BroadbankLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Andrew David TimothyLiberal Democrat · April 2024 · by-election
- Monika SlaterLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Paul HaslamConservative · May 2022
- Peter LaceyLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Michael HarrisonConservative · May 2022
- John MannConservative · May 2022
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlow & St. Georgesall in Harrogate · 8,396 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Mike Schofield | May 2022 |
| Valley Gardens & Central Harrogateall in Harrogate · 8,349 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Sam Gibbs | May 2022 |
| High Harrogate & Kingsleyall in Harrogate · 8,293 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Chris Aldred | May 2022 |
| Fairfax & Starbeckall in Harrogate · 8,222 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Philip Anthony Broadbank | May 2022 |
| Stray, Woodlands & Hookstoneall in Harrogate · 8,077 residents1 seat · April 2024 | 1 | Andrew David Timothyby-election | April 2024 |
| Bilton Grange & New Parkall in Harrogate · 7,902 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Monika Slater | May 2022 |
| Bilton & Nidd Gorgeall in Harrogate · 7,150 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Paul Haslam | May 2022 |
| Coppice Valley & Duchyall in Harrogate · 7,149 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Peter Lacey | May 2022 |
| Killinghall, Hampsthwaite & Saltergatemostly in Harrogate · 6,591 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | Michael Harrison | May 2022 |
| Oatlands & Pannalmostly in Harrogate · 5,393 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | John Mann | May 2022 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. North Yorkshire 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).
North Yorkshire council election, May 2022
Results in the wards that make up Harrogate, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
10 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Harrogate’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,713 votes for candidates
2,184 votes for candidates
2,042 votes for candidates
Every ward’s result (7 more)
1,803 votes for candidates
2,616 votes for candidates
1,927 votes for candidates
1,965 votes for candidates
2,088 votes for candidates
1,856 votes for candidates
2,511 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Harrogate is in Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Harrogate).
52,064 votes for candidates · majority 8,238
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 52,064 votes from 77,955 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 8,238 of 52,064 votes (15.8%): wider than in 56% 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.
Harrogate’s Band D council tax is £2,515 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
North Yorkshire Council keeps £2,036.32 of a Band D bill (81%); the rest goes to the Harrogate parish council and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Harrogate, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
North Yorkshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,100.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with North Yorkshire
| North Yorkshire | Harrogate’s councils | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £530 | £511 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £161 | £255 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £49 | £47 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £50 | £43 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £166 | £146 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £60 | £48 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £27 | £23 | £26 |
| Public health | £45 | £74 | £78 |
| Running the council | £68 | £67 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £10 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,156 | £1,224 | £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. North Yorkshire 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 Harrogate 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.
northyorks.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
northyorks.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Harrogate is run
Which council runs Harrogate?
Harrogate is run by North Yorkshire Council.
Does Harrogate have a town council?
Yes: Harrogate has its own parish-tier council (Harrogate parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £26 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Harrogate?
Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, which covers Harrogate.
How many councillors does Harrogate have?
10 ward councillors represent Harrogate’s 10 wards.
When are the next elections in Harrogate?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Harrogate’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Harrogate?
Band D council tax in Harrogate is £2,514 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls North Yorkshire Council?
The Conservatives have a majority: 46 of 90 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2022 council election in Harrogate?
In Harrogate’s wards on 5 May 2022, Liberal Democrat 6 · Conservative 4 of the 10 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 41.2%.
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.