Photo: Rodw · Public domainThe Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Bath and North East Somerset Council
Bishop Sutton is run by Bath and North East Somerset Council, with Stowey-Sutton parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Its MP is Dan Norris (Independent), member for North East Somerset and Hanham.
£2,371
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Bishop Sutton’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Bath and North East Somerset Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Bath and North East Somerset Council: 40 of its 59 seats as elected. Labour holds 7, independents 6, the Greens 3 and the Conservatives 3. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Bishop Sutton is £2,371 for 2026–27; Bath and North East Somerset Council keeps 81% 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
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 30 of Bath and North East Somerset’s 59 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat40
- Labour7
- Independent6
- Conservative3
- Green3
Latest election: May 2023.
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 Bishop Sutton
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 Bishop Sutton’s residents · Band D precept £53
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Helen Godwin (Labour), elected May 2025
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 Bishop Sutton, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierStowey-Sutton parish council
- 2Bath and North East Somerset Council1 ward · 2 councillorsAnna Victoria BoxDave Harding
- 3Mayor of West of England Combined AuthorityWest of England Combined Authority · elected May 2025Helen Godwin
- 4Police and crime commissionerAvon and Somerset Constabulary · elected May 2024Clare Moody
- 5House of CommonsNorth East Somerset and Hanham
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.
- Anna Victoria BoxLiberal Democrat · May 2023
- Dave HardingLiberal Democrat · May 2023
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chew Valley23% in Bishop Sutton · 1,424 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Anna Victoria BoxDave Harding | May 2023 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Bath and North East Somerset 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).
Bath and North East Somerset council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Bishop 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. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Bishop 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? ↗4,047 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.
Bishop Sutton is in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Bishop Sutton).
51,125 votes for candidates · majority 5,319
Independent, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 51,125 votes from 73,889 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 5,319 of 51,125 votes (10.4%): the 196th-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.
Bishop Sutton’s Band D council tax is £2,371 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Bath and North East Somerset Council keeps £1,914.03 of a Band D bill (81%); the rest goes to the Stowey-Sutton parish council, the Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner and the Avon Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1996
Bath and North East Somerset’s Band D bill has risen 56% in ten years, from £1,523.89 in 2016–17, in line with England’s average (56%). It was £672.97 in 1996–97.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Stowey-Sutton, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Somerset’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,200.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Somerset
| Bath and North East Somerset | Bishop Sutton’s councils | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £427 | £487 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £249 | £277 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £-5 | £33 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £36 | £33 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £131 | £136 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £-28 | £16 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £28 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £63 | £56 | £78 |
| Running the council | £48 | £46 | £59 |
| Other | £-20 | £8 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £930 | £1,108 | £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. Somerset 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 Bishop 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.
bathnes.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
bathnes.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Bishop Sutton is run
Which council runs Bishop Sutton?
Bishop Sutton is run by Bath and North East Somerset Council.
Does Bishop Sutton have a town council?
Yes: Bishop Sutton has its own parish-tier council (Stowey-Sutton parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £53 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Bishop Sutton?
Dan Norris (Independent) is the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham, which covers Bishop Sutton.
How many councillors does Bishop Sutton have?
2 ward councillors represent Bishop Sutton’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Bishop Sutton?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Bishop Sutton’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Bishop Sutton?
Band D council tax in Bishop Sutton is £2,371 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Bath and North East Somerset Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 40 of 59 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2023 council election in Bishop Sutton?
In Bishop Sutton’s wards on 4 May 2023, Liberal Democrat 2 of the 2 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 54.6%.
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.