Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Northumberland County Council
Bedlington is run by Northumberland County Council, with West Bedlington parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Northumberland County Council. Its MP is Ian Lavery (Labour), member for Blyth and Ashington.
£2,607
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Bedlington’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Northumberland County Council
The Conservatives, the largest group, hold 27 of its 69 seats as elected, 8 short of the 35 needed. Reform UK holds 20, Labour 10, independents 7, the Liberal Democrats 3 and the Greens 2. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Bedlington is £2,582 for 2026–27; Northumberland County Council keeps 88% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 57% in ten years, in line with 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.
No party has a majority
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 35 of Northumberland’s 69 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative27
- Reform UK20
- Labour10
- Independent7
- Liberal Democrat3
- Green2
Latest election: May 2025.
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 Bedlington
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.
55% of Bedlington’s residents · Band D precept £88
The parish council for the part of Bedlington inside East Bedlington parish.
Who runs Bedlington: same source as Who runs Bedlington, 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: Kim McGuinness (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 Bedlington, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsWest Bedlington parish councilEast Bedlington parish council
- 2Northumberland County Council4 wards · 4 councillorsTrevor Michael AustinChristine Anne TaylorMalcolm RobinsonRoger Spriddell
- 3Mayor of North East Combined AuthorityNorth East Combined Authority · elected May 2024Kim McGuinness
- 4Police and crime commissionerNorthumbria Police · elected May 2024Susan Dungworth
- 5House of CommonsBlyth and Ashington
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.
4 councillors for 4 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.
- Trevor Michael AustinReform UK · May 2025
- Christine Anne TaylorIndependent · May 2025
- Malcolm RobinsonIndependent · May 2025
- Roger SpriddellReform UK · May 2025
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedlington Eastall in Bedlington · 5,298 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Trevor Michael Austin | May 2025 |
| Bedlington Centralall in Bedlington · 4,796 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Christine Anne Taylor | May 2025 |
| Bedlington Westmostly in Bedlington · 4,032 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Malcolm Robinson | May 2025 |
| Sleekburn42% in Bedlington · 2,060 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Roger Spriddell | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Northumberland County 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).
Northumberland council election, May 2025
Results in the wards that make up Bedlington, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
4 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Bedlington’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,153 votes for candidates
1,467 votes for candidates
1,583 votes for candidates
Every ward’s result (1 more)
1,169 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Bedlington is in Blyth and Ashington constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Bedlington).
40,401 votes for candidates · majority 9,173
Labour, MP since 6 May 2010.
turnout in July 2024: 40,401 votes from 76,595 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 9,173 of 40,401 votes (22.7%): wider than in 72% 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.
Bedlington’s Band D council tax is £2,582 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Northumberland County Council keeps £2,279.36 of a Band D bill (88%); the rest goes to the West Bedlington parish council and the Northumbria police and crime commissioner.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,607 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 2009
Northumberland’s Band D bill has risen 57% in ten years, from £1,656.89 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £1,445.08 in 2009–10.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in West Bedlington, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Northumberland
| Northumberland | Bedlington’s councils | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £480 | £480 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £256 | £256 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £35 | £35 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £21 | £21 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £161 | £161 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £42 | £42 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £11 | £11 | £26 |
| Public health | £69 | £69 | £78 |
| Running the council | £40 | £40 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £0 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,186 | £1,186 | £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. Northumberland 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 Bedlington 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.
northumberland.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
northumberland.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Bedlington is run
Which council runs Bedlington?
Bedlington is run by Northumberland County Council.
Does Bedlington have a town council?
Yes: Bedlington has its own parish-tier council (West Bedlington parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £88 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Bedlington?
Ian Lavery (Labour) is the MP for Blyth and Ashington, which covers Bedlington.
How many councillors does Bedlington have?
4 ward councillors represent Bedlington’s 4 wards.
When are the next elections in Bedlington?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Bedlington’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Bedlington?
Band D council tax in Bedlington is £2,607 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Northumberland County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Conservative 27 · Reform UK 20 · Labour 10 · Independent 7 · Liberal Democrat 3 · Green 2 of 69 seats; a majority needs 35. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2025 council election in Bedlington?
In Bedlington’s wards on 1 May 2025, Independent 2 · Reform UK 2 of the 4 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 39.7%.
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.