Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Somerset Council
Shipham is run by Somerset Council, with Shipham parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Somerset Council. Its MP is Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat), member for Wells and Mendip Hills.
£2,396
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Shipham’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Somerset Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Somerset Council: 61 of its 108 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 34, the Greens 5, Labour 5 and independents 3. Who’s in charge ↓
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 55 of Somerset’s 108 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat61
- Conservative34
- Green5
- Labour5
- Independent3
Latest election: May 2022.
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 Shipham
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 Shipham’s residents · Band D precept £28
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 Shipham, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierShipham parish council
- 2Somerset Council1 ward · 2 councillorsPauline Ann HamBen Ferguson
- 3Police and crime commissionerAvon and Somerset Constabulary · elected May 2024Clare Moody
- 4House of CommonsWells and Mendip Hills
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.
- Pauline Ann HamLiberal Democrat · May 2022
- Ben FergusonLiberal Democrat · May 2022
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheddar12% in Shipham · 1,104 residents2 seats · May 2022 | 2 | Pauline Ann HamBen Ferguson | May 2022 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. 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).
Somerset council election, May 2022
Results in the wards that make up Shipham, 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 Shipham’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗5,555 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.
Shipham is in Wells and Mendip Hills constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Shipham).
50,368 votes for candidates · majority 11,121
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 50,368 votes from 73,538 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 11,121 of 50,368 votes (22.1%): wider than in 71% 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.
Shipham’s Band D council tax is £2,396 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Somerset Council keeps £1,950.89 of a Band D bill (81%); the rest goes to the Shipham parish council, the Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner and the Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Shipham, 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
| Somerset | Shipham’s councils | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £507 | £487 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £292 | £277 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £40 | £33 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £31 | £33 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £150 | £136 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £25 | £16 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £15 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £51 | £56 | £78 |
| Running the council | £41 | £46 | £59 |
| Other | £20 | £8 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,172 | £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 Shipham 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.
somerset.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
somerset.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Shipham is run
Which council runs Shipham?
Shipham is run by Somerset Council.
Does Shipham have a town council?
Yes: Shipham has its own parish-tier council (Shipham parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £28 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Shipham?
Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Wells and Mendip Hills, which covers Shipham.
How many councillors does Shipham have?
2 ward councillors represent Shipham’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Shipham?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Shipham’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Shipham?
Band D council tax in Shipham is £2,396 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Somerset Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 61 of 108 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2022 council election in Shipham?
In Shipham’s wards on 5 May 2022, Liberal Democrat 2 of the 2 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 44.7%.
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.