Photo: Motacilla · CC BY-SA 4.0No party holds a majority on Cherwell District Council
Bodicote is run by Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council, with Bodicote parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Cherwell District Council. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Oxfordshire County Council. Its MP is Sean Woodcock (Labour), member for Banbury.
£2,554
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Bodicote’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Cherwell District Council
The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 21 of its 47 seats as elected, 3 short of the 24 needed. Labour holds 8, the Conservatives 7, Reform UK 6, the Greens 4 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Oxfordshire in 2025
Oxfordshire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Liberal Democrat majority at the May 2025 election: the Liberal Democrats won 36 of 69 seats. Oxfordshire ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Bodicote’s wards, the Conservatives took 28.7%, Reform UK took 27.8% and the Greens took 16% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Conservatives had 36.9%. How Bodicote has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Bodicote is £2,508 for 2026–27; Cherwell District Council keeps 7% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 56% 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 holds the seats on Bodicote’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 24 of Cherwell’s 47 or 35 of Oxfordshire’s 69 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat21
- Labour8
- Conservative7
- Reform UK6
- Green4
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2026.
- Liberal Democrat36
- Labour12
- Conservative10
- Green7
- Independent2
- Henley Residents Group1
- Reform UK1
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.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Bodicote 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.
52% of Bodicote’s residents · Band D precept £39
The parish council for the part of Bodicote inside Banbury parish.
Who runs Bodicote: same source as Who runs Bodicote, above.
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗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.
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 Bodicote, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsBodicote parish councilBanbury parish council
- 2Cherwell District Council2 wards · 3 councillorsDavid Richard HingleyIan HarwoodJohn Jefferson Brown
- 3Oxfordshire County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsKieron MallonMark David Cherry
- 4Police and crime commissionerThames Valley Police · elected May 2024Matthew Barber
- 5House of CommonsBanbury
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.
3 councillors for 2 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.
- David Richard HingleyLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Ian HarwoodConservative · May 2026
- John Jefferson BrownReform UK · May 2026
Show as a table, with Oxfordshire County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote25% in Bodicote · 2,460 residents1 seat · May 2026 | 1 | David Richard Hingley | May 2026 |
| Banbury Calthorpe and Easington20% in Bodicote · 2,292 residents2 seats · May 2026 | 2 | Ian HarwoodJohn Jefferson Brown | May 2026 |
Oxfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banbury Easington ED25% in Bodicote · 2,460 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Kieron Mallon | May 2025 |
| Banbury Ruscote ED7% in Bodicote · 2,292 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Mark David Cherry | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Cherwell 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).
The Conservatives have led every council vote since 2021
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Bodicote’s wards at each scheduled council election since 2021. A gap is a year with no election here.
Seats won at each election
Show as a table
| Party | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 5.7% | 0% | 3.7% | 7.4% | 16% |
| Labour | 20.9% | 25.9% | 27.3% | 29% | 11.8% |
| Liberal Democrat | 17.7% | 36% | 31.1% | 23.1% | 14.8% |
| Conservative | 54% | 38.1% | 34.3% | 36.9% | 28.7% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 27.8% |
In 2026, the Liberal Democrats won 1, the Conservatives won 1 and Reform UK won 1 of the 3 seats up in Bodicote’s wards.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Where a ward elects several councillors at once, each voter has that many votes; all of them count here.
Cherwell council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Bodicote, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
2 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Bodicote’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,898 votes for candidates
7,973 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Bodicote is in Banbury constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Bodicote).
48,178 votes for candidates · majority 3,256
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 48,178 votes from 73,250 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,256 of 48,178 votes (6.8%): the 126th-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.
Bodicote’s Band D council tax is £2,508 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Cherwell District Council keeps £163.50 of a Band D bill (7%); the rest goes to the Bodicote parish council, Oxfordshire County Council and the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,554 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Cherwell’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,660.57 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £500.63 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Bodicote, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Oxfordshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,400.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Oxfordshire
| Cherwell + Oxfordshire | Bodicote’s councils | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £418 | £418 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £259 | £259 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £63 | £60 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £41 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £106 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £36 | £41 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £38 | £35 | £26 |
| Public health | £55 | £55 | £78 |
| Running the council | £70 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £20 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,150 | £1,162 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Cherwell per its residents plus Oxfordshire 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. Oxfordshire 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 Bodicote 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.
cherwell.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
cherwell.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Bodicote is run
Which council runs Bodicote?
Bodicote is run by Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Bodicote have a town council?
Yes: Bodicote has its own parish-tier council (Bodicote parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £39 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Bodicote?
Sean Woodcock (Labour) is the MP for Banbury, which covers Bodicote.
How many councillors does Bodicote have?
3 ward councillors represent Bodicote’s 2 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Bodicote?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Bodicote’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Bodicote?
Band D council tax in Bodicote is £2,554 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Cherwell District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 21 · Labour 8 · Conservative 7 · Reform UK 6 · Green 4 · Independent 1 of 47 seats; a majority needs 24. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Oxfordshire County Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 36 of 69 seats as elected.
Who won the 2026 council election in Bodicote?
In Bodicote’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 1 · Conservative 1 · Reform UK 1 of the 3 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 28.7%.
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.