Photo: Motacilla · CC BY-SA 3.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on South Oxfordshire District Council
Checkendon is run by South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council, with Checkendon parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. Its MP is Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat), member for Henley and Thame.
£2,567
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Checkendon’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on South Oxfordshire District Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on South Oxfordshire District Council: 21 of its 36 seats as elected. The Greens hold 8, Labour 3, Henley Residents Group 3 and the Conservatives 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 ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Checkendon is £2,567 for 2026–27; South Oxfordshire District Council keeps 6% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 58% 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 Checkendon’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 19 of South Oxfordshire’s 36 or 35 of Oxfordshire’s 69 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat21
- Green8
- Henley Residents Group3
- Labour3
- Conservative1
Latest election: May 2023.
- 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
Checkendon 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.
100% of Checkendon’s residents · Band D precept £105
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 Checkendon, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierCheckendon parish council
- 2South Oxfordshire District Council1 ward · 2 councillorsJo RobbJames Welch Norman
- 3Oxfordshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorBenjamin James Higgins
- 4Police and crime commissionerThames Valley Police · elected May 2024Matthew Barber
- 5House of CommonsHenley and Thame
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.
2 councillors 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.
- Jo RobbGreen · May 2023
- James Welch NormanGreen · May 2023
Show as a table, with Oxfordshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodcote & Rotherfield6% in Checkendon · 521 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Jo RobbJames Welch Norman | May 2023 |
Oxfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watlington & Rotherfield ED4% in Checkendon · 521 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Benjamin James Higgins | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. South Oxfordshire 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).
South Oxfordshire council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Checkendon, 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 Checkendon’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗4,997 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.
Checkendon is in Henley and Thame constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Checkendon).
53,157 votes for candidates · majority 6,267
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 53,157 votes from 73,749 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 6,267 of 53,157 votes (11.8%): the 229th-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.
Checkendon’s Band D council tax is £2,567 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
South Oxfordshire District Council keeps £156.24 of a Band D bill (6%); the rest goes to the Checkendon parish council, Oxfordshire County Council and the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
South Oxfordshire’s Band D bill has risen 58% in ten years, from £1,640.13 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £569.25 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Checkendon, 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
| South Oxfordshire + Oxfordshire | Checkendon’s councils | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £418 | £418 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £259 | £259 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £58 | £60 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £30 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £127 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £33 | £41 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £40 | £35 | £26 |
| Public health | £55 | £55 | £78 |
| Running the council | £49 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,111 | £1,162 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: South Oxfordshire 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 Checkendon 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.
southoxon.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
southoxon.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Checkendon is run
Which council runs Checkendon?
Checkendon is run by South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Checkendon have a town council?
Yes: Checkendon has its own parish-tier council (Checkendon parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £105 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Checkendon?
Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Henley and Thame, which covers Checkendon.
How many councillors does Checkendon have?
2 ward councillors represent Checkendon’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Checkendon?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Checkendon’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Checkendon?
Band D council tax in Checkendon is £2,567 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls South Oxfordshire District Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 21 of 36 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2023 council election in Checkendon?
In Checkendon’s wards on 4 May 2023, Green 2 of the 2 seats up. The Greens had the largest share of votes, 58.4%.
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.