Photo: mick finn · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Cherwell District Council
Finmere is run by Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council, with Finmere 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 Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat), member for Bicester and Woodstock.
£2,539
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Finmere’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 Finmere’s wards, the Liberal Democrats took 39.5%, Reform UK took 25.2% and the Conservatives took 25% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Liberal Democrats had 44.6%. How Finmere has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Finmere is £2,539 for 2026–27; Cherwell District Council keeps 6% 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 Finmere’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
Finmere 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 Finmere’s residents · Band D precept £70
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 Finmere, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierFinmere parish council
- 2Cherwell District Council1 ward · 3 councillorsJean ConwayGrace Louise Conway-MurrayNigel Simpson
- 3Oxfordshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorGareth Epps
- 4Police and crime commissionerThames Valley Police · elected May 2024Matthew Barber
- 5House of CommonsBicester and Woodstock
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 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.
- Jean ConwayLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Grace Louise Conway-MurrayLiberal Democrat · May 2024
- Nigel SimpsonConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Oxfordshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fringford and Heyfords5% in Finmere · 487 residents3 seats · May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 | 3 | Jean ConwayGrace Louise Conway-MurrayNigel Simpson | May 2026, May 2024, May 2023 |
Oxfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deddington ED3% in Finmere · 487 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Gareth Epps | 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).
Who led each council vote, 2021–2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Finmere’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 | 24.3% | 18.3% | 11.7% | 9.4% | 10.4% |
| Labour | 15.6% | 18.9% | 15% | 9.8% | 0% |
| Liberal Democrat | 0% | 20.3% | 31.1% | 44.6% | 39.5% |
| Conservative | 60.1% | 42.5% | 42.2% | 36.2% | 25% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 25.2% |
In 2026, the Liberal Democrats won 1 of the 1 seats up in Finmere’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 Finmere, 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. Cherwell elects a third of its councillors at a time, so a third of the seats were up.
No election is scheduled yet for Finmere’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,476 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Finmere is in Bicester and Woodstock constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Finmere).
50,219 votes for candidates · majority 4,958
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 50,219 votes from 74,353 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 4,958 of 50,219 votes (9.9%): the 186th-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.
Finmere’s Band D council tax is £2,539 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 (6%); the rest goes to the Finmere parish council, Oxfordshire County Council and the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner.
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 Finmere, 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 | Finmere’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 Finmere 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 Finmere is run
Which council runs Finmere?
Finmere 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 Finmere have a town council?
Yes: Finmere has its own parish-tier council (Finmere parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £70 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Finmere?
Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Bicester and Woodstock, which covers Finmere.
How many councillors does Finmere have?
3 ward councillors represent Finmere’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Finmere?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Finmere’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Finmere?
Band D council tax in Finmere is £2,539 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 Finmere?
In Finmere’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 1 of the 1 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 39.5%.
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.