Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on West Oxfordshire District Council
Sutton is run by West Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council, with Stanton Harcourt parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on West Oxfordshire District Council. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Oxfordshire County Council. Its MP is Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat), member for Witney.
£2,518
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Sutton’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on West Oxfordshire District Council
The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 21 of its 49 seats as elected, 4 short of the 25 needed (it held 22 before the May 2026 election). The Conservatives hold 16, Labour 7, the Greens 4 and Reform UK 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 Sutton’s wards, the Liberal Democrats took 49.8%, the Conservatives took 26.2% and Reform UK took 18.4% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Liberal Democrats had 51.3%. How Sutton has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Sutton is £2,518 for 2026–27; West Oxfordshire District Council keeps 5% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 59% 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 Sutton’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of West Oxfordshire’s 49 or 35 of Oxfordshire’s 69 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat21−1
- Conservative16+3
- Labour7−3
- Green4no change
- Reform UK1+1
Change against the council before the 7 May 2026 election.
- 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
Sutton 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 Sutton’s residents · Band D precept £79
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 Sutton, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierStanton Harcourt parish council
- 2West Oxfordshire District Council1 ward · 2 councillorsSandra CosierStephen John Cosier
- 3Oxfordshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorTed Fenton
- 4Police and crime commissionerThames Valley Police · elected May 2024Matthew Barber
- 5House of CommonsWitney
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.
- Sandra CosierLiberal Democrat · May 2026
- Stephen John CosierLiberal Democrat · May 2024
Show as a table, with Oxfordshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standlake, Aston and Stanton Harcourt8% in Sutton · 346 residents2 seats · May 2026, May 2024 | 2 | Sandra CosierStephen John Cosier | May 2026, May 2024 |
Oxfordshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bampton & Carterton South ED4% in Sutton · 346 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Ted Fenton | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. West 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).
Who led each council vote, 2021–2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Sutton’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 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 9.6% | 0% | 5.8% | 1.5% |
| Liberal Democrat | 34.1% | 58% | 51.3% | 49.8% |
| Conservative | 56.3% | 42% | 40.1% | 26.2% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 18.4% |
In 2026, the Liberal Democrats won 1 of the 1 seats up in Sutton’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.
West Oxfordshire council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Sutton, 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. Not every seat in the town’s wards was up this time.
No election is scheduled yet for Sutton’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,971 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Sutton is in Witney constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Sutton).
50,584 votes for candidates · majority 4,339
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 50,584 votes from 75,448 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 4,339 of 50,584 votes (8.6%): the 158th-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.
Sutton’s Band D council tax is £2,518 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
West Oxfordshire District Council keeps £134.38 of a Band D bill (5%); the rest goes to the Stanton Harcourt parish council, Oxfordshire County Council and the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
West Oxfordshire’s Band D bill has risen 59% in ten years, from £1,613.35 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £491.63 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Stanton Harcourt, 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
| West Oxfordshire + Oxfordshire | Sutton’s councils | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £418 | £418 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £259 | £259 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £66 | £60 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £36 | £41 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £139 | £132 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £13 | £41 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £27 | £35 | £26 |
| Public health | £55 | £55 | £78 |
| Running the council | £52 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,107 | £1,162 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: West 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 Sutton 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.
westoxon.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
westoxon.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Sutton is run
Which council runs Sutton?
Sutton is run by West Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Sutton have a town council?
Yes: Sutton has its own parish-tier council (Stanton Harcourt parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £79 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Sutton?
Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Witney, which covers Sutton.
How many councillors does Sutton have?
2 ward councillors represent Sutton’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Sutton?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Sutton’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Sutton?
Band D council tax in Sutton is £2,518 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls West Oxfordshire District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 21 · Conservative 16 · Labour 7 · Green 4 · Reform UK 1 of 49 seats; a majority needs 25. 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 Sutton?
In Sutton’s wards on 7 May 2026, Liberal Democrat 1 of the 1 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 49.8%.
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.