Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0The Conservatives hold a majority on North Yorkshire Council
Settle is run by North Yorkshire Council, with Settle parish council for local matters. The Conservatives have a majority on North Yorkshire Council. Its MP is Sir Julian Smith (Conservative), member for Skipton and Ripon.
£2,640
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Settle’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 Settle
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.
100% of Settle’s residents · Band D precept £151
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 Settle, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierSettle parish council
- 2North Yorkshire Council1 ward · 1 councillorDavid Michael Staveley
- 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 CommonsSkipton and Ripon
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.
- David Michael StaveleyConservative · May 2022
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settle & Penyghent48% in Settle · 2,710 residents1 seat · May 2022 | 1 | David Michael Staveley | 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 Settle, 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 Settle’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,948 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Settle is in Skipton and Ripon constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Settle).
53,450 votes for candidates · majority 1,650
Conservative, MP since 6 May 2010.
turnout in July 2024: 53,450 votes from 79,238 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 1,650 of 53,450 votes (3.1%): the 59th-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.
Settle’s Band D council tax is £2,640 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 (77%); the rest goes to the Settle parish council and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Settle, 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 | Settle’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 Settle 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 Settle is run
Which council runs Settle?
Settle is run by North Yorkshire Council.
Does Settle have a town council?
Yes: Settle has its own parish-tier council (Settle parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £151 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Settle?
Sir Julian Smith (Conservative) is the MP for Skipton and Ripon, which covers Settle.
How many councillors does Settle have?
1 ward councillors represent Settle’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Settle?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Settle’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Settle?
Band D council tax in Settle is £2,640 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 Settle?
In Settle’s wards on 5 May 2022, Conservative 1 of the 1 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 55.3%.
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.