Photo: Tom Courtney · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Newark and Sherwood District Council
Rainworth is run by Newark and Sherwood District Council, Mansfield District Council and Nottinghamshire County Council, with Rainworth parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Newark and Sherwood District Council. Labour has a majority on Mansfield District Council. Reform UK has a majority on Nottinghamshire County Council. Most of Rainworth is in Sherwood Forest (MP Michelle Welsh, Labour); 17% of residents are in Mansfield (MP Steve Yemm, Labour).
£2,616
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Rainworth’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Newark and Sherwood District Council
The Conservatives, the largest group, hold 14 of its 39 seats as elected, 6 short of the 20 needed. Labour holds 11, independents 9, the Liberal Democrats 3 and Reform UK 2. Who’s in charge ↓
Nottinghamshire changed hands in 2025
Nottinghamshire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (36 of 66 seats in 2021) to a Reform UK majority at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 41 of 66 seats. Nottinghamshire ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Rainworth is £2,620 for 2026–27; Newark and Sherwood District Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 51% in ten years, against 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 holds the seats on Rainworth’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 20 of Newark and Sherwood’s 39 or 19 of Mansfield’s 36 or 34 of Nottinghamshire’s 66 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative14
- Labour11
- Independent9
- Liberal Democrat3
- Reform UK2
Latest election: May 2023.
- Labour26
- Conservative4
- Mansfield Independents4
- Independent2
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK41+41
- Conservative18−18
- Labour4−11
- Ashfield Independents1−9
- Broxtowe Alliance1+1
- Broxtowe Independent Group1+1
- Independent0−4
- Liberal Democrat0−1
Change against the council before the 1 May 2025 election.
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.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Rainworth has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
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.
83% of Rainworth’s residents · Band D precept £38
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
83% of Rainworth’s residents
Website ↗Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
17% of Rainworth’s residents · Led by an elected mayor: Andy Abrahams (Labour), elected May 2023
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Claire Ward (Labour and Co-operative), elected May 2024
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.
17% of Rainworth’s residents live outside any parish, with no parish council.
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 Rainworth, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierRainworth parish council
- 2Council wards3 wards · 5 councillorsLinda Mary Joan TiftClaire PennyTina ThompsonTom SmithCharlotte Ruth Inkle
- 3Nottinghamshire County Council2 divisions · 3 councillorsRichard Steven WardMick BartonMartin Wright
- 4Mayor of MansfieldMansfield District Council · elected May 2023Andy Abrahams
- 5Mayor of East Midlands Combined County AuthorityEast Midlands Combined County Authority · elected May 2024Claire Ward
- 6Police and crime commissionerNottinghamshire Police · elected May 2024Gary Godden
- 7House of CommonsSplit between 2 constituencies
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.
5 councillors for 3 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.
- Linda Mary Joan TiftLabour · May 2023
- Claire PennyLabour · May 2023
- Tina ThompsonIndependent · May 2023
- Tom SmithConservative · May 2023
- Charlotte Ruth InkleLabour · May 2023
Show as a table, with Nottinghamshire County Council’s 2 divisions (3 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainworth North & RuffordNewark and Sherwood · mostly in Rainworth · 4,743 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Linda Mary Joan TiftClaire Penny | May 2023 |
| Rainworth South & BlidworthNewark and Sherwood · 31% in Rainworth · 1,916 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Tina ThompsonTom Smith | May 2023 |
| SouthwellMansfield · 46% in Rainworth · 1,331 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Charlotte Ruth Inkle | May 2023 |
Nottinghamshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blidworth EDmostly in Rainworth · 6,659 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Richard Steven Ward | May 2025 |
| Mansfield East ED5% in Rainworth · 1,331 residents2 seats · May 2025 | 2 | Mick BartonMartin Wright | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Newark and Sherwood District 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).
Newark and Sherwood council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Rainworth, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
3 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Rainworth’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,584 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
2,496 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
454 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Rainworth is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
83% of Rainworth’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 62% (England 60%).
Majority 5,443 of 48,660 votes (11.2%): the 213th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
17% of Rainworth’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 55% (England 60%).
Majority 3,485 of 41,087 votes (8.5%): the 157th-narrowest of 543 in England.
48,660 votes for candidates · majority 5,443
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 48,660 votes from 78,896 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,443 of 48,660 votes (11.2%): the 213th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Mansfield
41,087 votes for candidates · majority 3,485
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 41,087 votes from 74,535 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,485 of 41,087 votes (8.5%): the 157th-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.
Rainworth’s Band D council tax is £2,620 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Newark and Sherwood District Council keeps £198.60 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Rainworth parish council, Nottinghamshire County Council, the Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner and the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,616 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Newark and Sherwood’s Band D bill has risen 51% in ten years, from £1,777.22 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £631.13 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Rainworth, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Nottinghamshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,500.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Nottinghamshire
| Newark and Sherwood + Nottinghamshire | Rainworth’s councils | Nottinghamshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £505 | £510 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £275 | £310 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £22 | £65 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £17 | £39 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £103 | £116 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £42 | £38 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £51 | £32 | £26 |
| Public health | £68 | £90 | £78 |
| Running the council | £36 | £49 | £59 |
| Other | £32 | £38 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,152 | £1,287 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Newark and Sherwood per its residents plus Nottinghamshire per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Nottinghamshire 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 Rainworth 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.
newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Rainworth is run
Which council runs Rainworth?
Rainworth is run by Newark and Sherwood District Council, Mansfield District Council and Nottinghamshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Rainworth have a town council?
Yes: Rainworth has its own parish-tier council (Rainworth parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £38 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Rainworth?
Rainworth is split between 2 constituencies: Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh, Labour) and Mansfield (Steve Yemm, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Rainworth have?
5 ward councillors represent Rainworth’s 3 wards, and 3 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Rainworth?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Rainworth’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Rainworth?
Band D council tax in Rainworth is £2,616 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Newark and Sherwood District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Conservative 14 · Labour 11 · Independent 9 · Liberal Democrat 3 · Reform UK 2 of 39 seats; a majority needs 20. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Mansfield District Council?
Labour has a majority: 26 of 36 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Rainworth?
In Rainworth’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 3 · Independent 1 · Conservative 1 of the 5 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 37.7%.
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.