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Wellington High StreetPhoto: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0
Town Hall & politics · Somerset Council

The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Somerset Council

Wellington is run by Somerset Council, with Wellington parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Somerset Council. Its MP is Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat), member for Taunton and Wellington.

Council tax 2026–27

£2,632

Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.

Where it goes →
Band D council tax
£2,632
2026–27, a year
Ward councillors
4
2 wards · Somerset
MP
Gideon Amos
Liberal Democrat · Taunton and Wellington
Turnout, July 2024
64%
Taunton and Wellington · England 60%
What stands out · In brief

How Wellington’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’s in charge

Who holds the seats

Seats by party as elected. A party needs 55 of Somerset’s 108 seats to run the council alone.

Unitary council · 108 councillorsSomerset CouncilLiberal Democrat majority
GreenGreenGreenGreenGreenLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratIndependentIndependentIndependentConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservative108seats
  • Liberal Democrat61
  • Conservative34
  • Green5
  • Labour5
  • Independent3

Latest election: May 2022.

GreenLabourLiberal DemocratIndependentConservative

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.

Who runs Wellington

The councils that run Wellington

One council runs every main service here.

Town or parish councilWellington parish council

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 Wellington’s residents · Band D precept £264

Unitary councilSomerset Council

Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.

Website ↗

Who to ask

Bins and recyclingSomerset Council
Planning applicationsSomerset Council
Council housing and homelessnessSomerset Council
Council tax billsSomerset Council
Parks and leisure centresSomerset Council
Allotments, play areas, benchesWellington parish council
Potholes, roads and streetlightsSomerset Council
Schools and school placesSomerset Council
Adult and children’s social careSomerset Council
LibrariesSomerset Council
Tips and recycling centresSomerset Council
Police priorities and budgetAvon and Somerset Constabulary police and crime commissioner
Fire safety visitsDevon & Somerset Fire and Rescue

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.

Who represents Wellington

From the parish to Westminster

Every elected tier that speaks for Wellington, from the most recent elections.

  1. 1
    Town or parishParish tier
    Wellington parish council
  2. 2
    Somerset Council2 wards · 4 councillors
    Andy GovierMarcus Trevor BarrRoss Longhurst HenleySarah Wakefield
  3. 3
    Police and crime commissionerAvon and Somerset Constabulary · elected May 2024
    Clare Moody
  4. 4
    House of CommonsTaunton and Wellington
LabourConservativeLiberal Democrat

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.

Councillors

4 councillors for 2 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.

WellingtonBlackdown & Neroche
Each dot is a group of postcodes, shaded by the party that won its ward’s latest election. Tap a ward for its councillors.
Wellington
10,186 residents · 78% in Wellington
  • Andy GovierLabour · May 2022
  • Marcus Trevor BarrConservative · May 2022
Blackdown & Neroche
3,629 residents · 33% in Wellington
  • Ross Longhurst HenleyLiberal Democrat · May 2022
  • Sarah WakefieldLiberal Democrat · May 2022
LabourConservativeLiberal Democrat
Show as a table
WardSeatsElectedWhen
Wellingtonmostly in Wellington · 10,186 residents2 seats · May 20222
Andy GovierMarcus Trevor Barr
May 2022
Blackdown & Neroche33% in Wellington · 3,629 residents2 seats · May 20222
Ross Longhurst HenleySarah Wakefield
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).

Local elections

Somerset council election, May 2022

Results in the wards that make up Wellington, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.

Seats won in Wellington’s wards4 seats · 5 May 2022
Liberal Democrat2
Labour1
Conservative1

2 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.

Next elections

No election is scheduled yet for Wellington’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.

Who can I vote for? ↗
Wellington5 May 2022
Andy Govier ElectedLabour26.6%
Marcus Trevor Barr ElectedConservative18.2%
Mark LithgowLiberal Democrat18.0%
Catherine Elizabeth GovierLabour15.4%
Zoe Alex BarrConservative14.2%
John AinsworthGreen7.7%

6,809 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each

Blackdown & Neroche5 May 2022
Ross Longhurst Henley ElectedLiberal Democrat28.6%
Sarah Wakefield ElectedLiberal Democrat25.7%
John ThorneConservative19.0%
Michael Stanley Albert DennisConservative18.0%
Janet Carol LloydIndependent4.6%
Sue BullerIndependent4.2%

6,618 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratGreenIndependent

Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.

Parliament

Wellington is in Taunton and Wellington constituency

The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Wellington).

Taunton and Wellington · general election4 July 2024
Gideon Amos ElectedLiberal Democrat48.4%
Rebecca PowConservative24.6%
Charles HansardReform UK16.0%
Brenda WestonLabour7.1%
Ryan TrowerGreen3.6%
Rochelle RussellCommunist Party of Britain0.3%

50,294 votes for candidates · majority 11,939

MP for Taunton and Wellington

Gideon Amos

Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.

64%

turnout in July 2024: 50,294 votes from 78,680 registered voters. England: 60%.

Majority 11,939 of 50,294 votes (23.7%): wider than in 75% of England’s 543 constituencies.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKGreenOther parties

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.

Council money

Wellington’s Band D council tax is £2,632 a year

Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.

COUNCIL TAXBand D · 2026–27 · a Band D home in Wellington
Wellington parish councilparish precept£263.52
Somerset Councilcouncil£1,950.89
Avon & Somerset police and crime commissionerpolice and crime£308.20
Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Authorityfire and rescue£109.68
A year£2,632.29
Bills by band run from 6/9 of Band D (Band A) to 18/9 (Band H). Discounts and support reduce many bills.

Somerset Council keeps £1,950.89 of a Band D bill (74%); the rest goes to the Wellington parish council, the Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner and the Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority.

Your bill by band

Band A 6/9£1,755
Band B 7/9£2,047
Band C 8/9£2,340
Band D 9/9£2,632
Band E 11/9£3,217
Band F 13/9£3,802
Band G 15/9£4,387
Band H 18/9£5,265

A Band D home in Wellington, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.

Somerset’s councils

Bath and North East Somerset£2,383
North Somerset£2,491
Somerset£2,561

Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,200.

Council budgets per resident, 2026–27

ServiceSomersetvs England
Adult social care£507+£20
Children’s social care£292+£2
Roads and transport£40−£1
Housing (not council homes’ rents)£31−£30
Bins, street cleaning, environment£150+£31
Libraries, leisure, culture£25−£19
Planning and development£15−£11
Public health£51−£27
Running the council£41−£18
Other£20+£1
Wellington’s councils, per residentEngland, all councils
Show as a table, with Somerset
SomersetWellington’s councilsSomersetEngland
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.

Get involved

Having a say in how Wellington is run

Register to vote

It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.

gov.uk ↗
Contact your councillors or MP

Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.

WriteToThem ↗
Report a pothole or a broken streetlight

GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.

gov.uk ↗
Watch or speak at a council meeting

Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.

somerset.gov.uk ↗
Comment on a planning application

Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.

somerset.gov.uk ↗
Stand for election

The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.

Electoral Commission ↗

Questions about how Wellington is run

Which council runs Wellington?

Wellington is run by Somerset Council.

Does Wellington have a town council?

Yes: Wellington has its own parish-tier council (Wellington parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £264 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.

Who is the MP for Wellington?

Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Taunton and Wellington, which covers Wellington.

How many councillors does Wellington have?

4 ward councillors represent Wellington’s 2 wards.

When are the next elections in Wellington?

No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Wellington’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.

How much is council tax in Wellington?

Band D council tax in Wellington is £2,632 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 Wellington?

In Wellington’s wards on 5 May 2022, Liberal Democrat 2 · Labour 1 · Conservative 1 of the 4 seats up. The Liberal Democrats had the largest share of votes, 35.9%.

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.