Photo: TCExplorer · CC BY-SA 2.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Shropshire Council
Oswestry is run by Shropshire Council, with Oswestry parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Shropshire Council. Its MP is Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat), member for North Shropshire.
£2,548
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Oswestry’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Shropshire Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Shropshire Council: 42 of its 74 seats as elected. Reform UK holds 16, the Conservatives 7, the Greens 4, Labour 4 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Oswestry is £2,548 for 2026–27; Shropshire Council keeps 77% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 62% 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
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 38 of Shropshire’s 74 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat42
- Reform UK16
- Conservative7
- Green4
- Labour4
- Independent1
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.
The councils that run Oswestry
One council runs every main service here.
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 Oswestry’s residents · Band D precept £148
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
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 Oswestry, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierOswestry parish council
- 2Shropshire Council4 wards · 4 councillorsMark Anthony OwenWendy Rhiannon OwenDuncan Alistair KerrJames William Owen
- 3Police and crime commissionerWest Mercia Police · elected May 2024John-Paul Campion
- 4House of CommonsNorth Shropshire
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.
4 councillors for 4 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.
- Mark Anthony OwenLiberal Democrat · May 2025
- Wendy Rhiannon OwenLiberal Democrat · May 2025
- Duncan Alistair KerrGreen · May 2025
- James William OwenLiberal Democrat · May 2025
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oswestry South Eastall in Oswestry · 4,877 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Mark Anthony Owen | May 2025 |
| Oswestry Northall in Oswestry · 4,600 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Wendy Rhiannon Owen | May 2025 |
| Oswestry Southall in Oswestry · 4,414 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Duncan Alistair Kerr | May 2025 |
| Oswestry North Eastall in Oswestry · 3,609 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | James William Owen | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Shropshire 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).
Shropshire council election, May 2025
Results in the wards that make up Oswestry, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
4 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Oswestry’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗751 votes for candidates
1,115 votes for candidates
1,340 votes for candidates
Every ward’s result (1 more)
888 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Oswestry is in North Shropshire constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Oswestry).
49,594 votes for candidates · majority 15,311
Liberal Democrat, MP since 16 December 2021.
turnout in July 2024: 49,594 votes from 77,573 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 15,311 of 49,594 votes (30.9%): wider than in 86% of England’s 543 constituencies.
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.
Oswestry’s Band D council tax is £2,548 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Shropshire Council keeps £1,969.09 of a Band D bill (77%); the rest goes to the Oswestry parish council, the West Mercia police and crime commissioner and the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 2009
Shropshire’s Band D bill has risen 62% in ten years, from £1,558.32 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £1,471.54 in 2009–10.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Oswestry, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Shropshire
| Shropshire | Oswestry’s councils | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £586 | £566 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £325 | £322 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £54 | £47 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £37 | £35 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £158 | £147 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £33 | £38 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £8 | £11 | £26 |
| Public health | £47 | £61 | £78 |
| Running the council | £42 | £71 | £59 |
| Other | £63 | £39 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,352 | £1,337 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Shropshire 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 Oswestry 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.
next.shropshire.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
next.shropshire.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Oswestry is run
Which council runs Oswestry?
Oswestry is run by Shropshire Council.
Does Oswestry have a town council?
Yes: Oswestry has its own parish-tier council (Oswestry parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £148 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Oswestry?
Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for North Shropshire, which covers Oswestry.
How many councillors does Oswestry have?
4 ward councillors represent Oswestry’s 4 wards.
When are the next elections in Oswestry?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Oswestry’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Oswestry?
Band D council tax in Oswestry is £2,548 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Shropshire Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 42 of 74 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2025 council election in Oswestry?
In Oswestry’s wards on 1 May 2025, Liberal Democrat 3 · Green 1 of the 4 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 38%.
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.