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Town Hall & politics · Northumberland County Council

No party holds a majority on Northumberland County Council

Ovingham is run by Northumberland County Council, with Ovingham parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Northumberland County Council. Its MP is Joe Morris (Labour), member for Hexham.

Council tax 2026–27

£2,543

Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.

Where it goes →
Band D council tax
£2,543
2026–27, a year
Ward councillors
1
1 ward · Northumberland
MP
Joe Morris
Labour · Hexham
Turnout, July 2024
68%
Hexham · England 60%
What stands out · In brief

How Ovingham’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 Ovingham is £2,543 for 2026–27; Northumberland County Council keeps 90% 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.

Who’s in charge

No party has a majority

Seats by party as elected. A party needs 35 of Northumberland’s 69 seats to run the council alone.

Unitary council · 69 councillorsNorthumberland County CouncilNo overall control
GreenGreenLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UK69seats
  • Conservative27
  • Reform UK20
  • Labour10
  • Independent7
  • Liberal Democrat3
  • Green2

Latest election: May 2025.

GreenLabourLiberal DemocratIndependentConservativeReform UK

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.

Who runs Ovingham

The councils that run Ovingham

One council runs every main service here.

Town or parish councilOvingham parish council

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 Ovingham’s residents · Band D precept £49

Unitary councilNorthumberland County Council

Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.

Website ↗
Combined authorityNorth East

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

Bins and recyclingNorthumberland County Council
Planning applicationsNorthumberland County Council
Council housing and homelessnessNorthumberland County Council
Council tax billsNorthumberland County Council
Parks and leisure centresNorthumberland County Council
Allotments, play areas, benchesOvingham parish council
Potholes, roads and streetlightsNorthumberland County Council
Schools and school placesNorthumberland County Council
Adult and children’s social careNorthumberland County Council
LibrariesNorthumberland County Council
Tips and recycling centresNorthumberland County Council
Bus and transport plansNorth East combined authority
Police priorities and budgetNorthumbria Police police and crime commissioner

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.

Who represents Ovingham

From the parish to Westminster

Every elected tier that speaks for Ovingham, from the most recent elections.

  1. 1
    Town or parishParish tier
    Ovingham parish council
  2. 2
    Northumberland County Council1 ward · 1 councillor
    Lawrence O'Donnell
  3. 3
    Mayor of North East Combined AuthorityNorth East Combined Authority · elected May 2024
    Kim McGuinness
  4. 4
    Police and crime commissionerNorthumbria Police · elected May 2024
    Susan Dungworth
  5. 5
    House of CommonsHexham
Labour

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.

Councillors

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.

Prudhoe North & Wylam
1,155 residents · 25% in Ovingham
  • Lawrence O'DonnellLabour · May 2025
Labour
Show as a table
WardSeatsElectedWhen
Prudhoe North & Wylam25% in Ovingham · 1,155 residents1 seat · May 20251
Lawrence O'Donnell
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).

Local elections

Northumberland council election, May 2025

Results in the wards that make up Ovingham, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.

Seats won in Ovingham’s wards1 seat · 1 May 2025
Labour1

1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.

Next elections

No election is scheduled yet for Ovingham’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.

Who can I vote for? ↗
Prudhoe North & Wylam1 May 2025
Lawrence O'Donnell ElectedLabour37.5%
Holly WaddellIndependent26.2%
Andrew Christopher LappingReform UK18.1%
Shaun ParsonsConservative15.0%
Stuart Alan RowlandsLiberal Democrat3.2%

1,810 votes for candidates

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKIndependent

Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.

Parliament

Ovingham is in Hexham constituency

The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Ovingham).

Hexham · general election4 July 2024
Joe Morris ElectedLabour46.3%
Guy OppermanConservative39.1%
Nick MorphetGreen4.8%
Nick CottLiberal Democrat4.6%
Chris WhaleyIndependent2.9%
William CloustonSocial Democratic Party2.3%

51,828 votes for candidates · majority 3,713

MP for Hexham

Joe Morris

Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.

68%

turnout in July 2024: 51,828 votes from 76,431 registered voters. England: 60%.

Majority 3,713 of 51,828 votes (7.2%): the 134th-narrowest of 543 in England.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratGreenIndependentOther parties

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.

Council money

Ovingham’s Band D council tax is £2,543 a year

Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.

COUNCIL TAXBand D · 2026–27 · a Band D home in Ovingham
Ovingham parish councilparish precept£49.31
Northumberland County Councilcouncil£2,279.36
Northumbria police and crime commissionerpolice and crime£214.34
A year£2,543.01
Bills by band run from 6/9 of Band D (Band A) to 18/9 (Band H). Discounts and support reduce many bills.

Northumberland County Council keeps £2,279.36 of a Band D bill (90%); the rest goes to the Ovingham parish council and the Northumbria police and crime commissioner.

Band D since 2009

£0£500£1K£1.5K£2K£2.5K£3K2010201520202025England, 1993–94: £567.95England, 1994–95: £580.11England, 1995–96: £609.00England, 1996–97: £646.00England, 1997–98: £688.00England, 1998–99: £747.00England, 1999–00: £798.00England, 2000–01: £847.00England, 2001–02: £901.33England, 2002–03: £975.56England, 2003–04: £1,101.75England, 2004–05: £1,166.56England, 2005–06: £1,213.81England, 2006–07: £1,267.91England, 2007–08: £1,321.32England, 2008–09: £1,373.08England, 2009–10: £1,413.84England, 2010–11: £1,439.22England, 2011–12: £1,439.33England, 2012–13: £1,444.13England, 2013–14: £1,455.60England, 2014–15: £1,467.98England, 2015–16: £1,483.58England, 2016–17: £1,529.56England, 2017–18: £1,590.55England, 2018–19: £1,671.46England, 2019–20: £1,749.88England, 2020–21: £1,817.67England, 2021–22: £1,898.48England, 2022–23: £1,965.71England, 2023–24: £2,065.05England, 2024–25: £2,170.99England, 2025–26: £2,280.21England, 2026–27: £2,391.52Northumberland, 2009–10: £1,445.08Northumberland, 2010–11: £1,490.26Northumberland, 2011–12: £1,495.70Northumberland, 2012–13: £1,504.30Northumberland, 2013–14: £1,512.70Northumberland, 2014–15: £1,559.02Northumberland, 2015–16: £1,591.12Northumberland, 2016–17: £1,656.89Northumberland, 2017–18: £1,737.19Northumberland, 2018–19: £1,827.39Northumberland, 2019–20: £1,915.42Northumberland, 2020–21: £1,985.39Northumberland, 2021–22: £2,055.44Northumberland, 2022–23: £2,142.14Northumberland, 2023–24: £2,247.63Northumberland, 2024–25: £2,355.31Northumberland, 2025–26: £2,464.63Northumberland, 2026–27: £2,596.94Northumberland £2,597England £2,392

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

Band A 6/9£1,695
Band B 7/9£1,978
Band C 8/9£2,260
Band D 9/9£2,543
Band E 11/9£3,108
Band F 13/9£3,673
Band G 15/9£4,238
Band H 18/9£5,086

A Band D home in Ovingham, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.

Council budgets per resident, 2026–27

ServiceNorthumberlandvs England
Adult social care£480−£7
Children’s social care£256−£34
Roads and transport£35−£6
Housing (not council homes’ rents)£21−£40
Bins, street cleaning, environment£161+£42
Libraries, leisure, culture£42−£2
Planning and development£11−£15
Public health£69−£9
Running the council£40−£19
Other£0−£19
Ovingham’s councils, per residentEngland, all councils
Show as a table, with Northumberland
NorthumberlandOvingham’s councilsNorthumberlandEngland
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.

Get involved

Having a say in how Ovingham is run

Register to vote

It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.

gov.uk ↗
Contact your councillors or MP

Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.

WriteToThem ↗
Report a pothole or a broken streetlight

GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.

gov.uk ↗
Watch or speak at a council meeting

Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.

northumberland.gov.uk ↗
Comment on a planning application

Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.

northumberland.gov.uk ↗
Stand for election

The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.

Electoral Commission ↗

Questions about how Ovingham is run

Which council runs Ovingham?

Ovingham is run by Northumberland County Council.

Does Ovingham have a town council?

Yes: Ovingham has its own parish-tier council (Ovingham parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £49 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.

Who is the MP for Ovingham?

Joe Morris (Labour) is the MP for Hexham, which covers Ovingham.

How many councillors does Ovingham have?

1 ward councillors represent Ovingham’s 1 ward.

When are the next elections in Ovingham?

No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Ovingham’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.

How much is council tax in Ovingham?

Band D council tax in Ovingham is £2,543 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 Ovingham?

In Ovingham’s wards on 1 May 2025, Labour 1 of the 1 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 37.5%.

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.