Photo: Adrian S Pye · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on West Suffolk District Council
Barningham is run by West Suffolk District Council and Suffolk County Council, with Barningham parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on West Suffolk District Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Suffolk County Council. Its MP is Dr Peter Prinsley (Labour), member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket.
£2,385
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Barningham’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on West Suffolk District Council
The Conservatives, the largest group, hold 22 of its 60 seats as elected, 9 short of the 31 needed. Labour holds 17, West Suffolk Independents 9, independents 8, the Greens 2, the Liberal Democrats 1 and Reform UK 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Suffolk in 2021
Suffolk County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Conservative majority at the May 2021 election: the Conservatives won 51 of 75 seats. Suffolk ↓
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 Barningham’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 31 of West Suffolk’s 60 or 38 of Suffolk’s 75 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative22
- Labour17
- West Suffolk Independents9
- Independent8
- Green2
- Liberal Democrat1
- Reform UK1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Conservative51
- Green9
- Labour6
- Liberal Democrat5
- Reform UK2
- Independent1
- West Suffolk Independents1
Latest election: May 2021.
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
Barningham 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 Barningham’s residents · Band D precept £139
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 Barningham, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierBarningham parish council
- 2West Suffolk District Council1 ward · 1 councillorCarol Bull
- 3Suffolk County Council1 division · 1 councillorJoanna Spicer
- 4Police and crime commissionerSuffolk Constabulary · elected May 2024Tim Passmore
- 5House of CommonsBury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
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.
1 councillor 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.
- Carol BullConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Suffolk County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barningham37% in Barningham · 996 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Carol Bull | May 2023 |
Suffolk County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackbourn ED9% in Barningham · 996 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Joanna Spicer | May 2021 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. West Suffolk 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).
West Suffolk council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Barningham, 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 Barningham’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗793 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Barningham is in Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Barningham).
50,893 votes for candidates · majority 1,452
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 50,893 votes from 78,479 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 1,452 of 50,893 votes (2.9%): the 56th-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.
Barningham’s Band D council tax is £2,385 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 Suffolk District Council keeps £209.70 of a Band D bill (9%); the rest goes to the Barningham parish council, Suffolk County Council and the Suffolk police and crime commissioner.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Barningham, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Suffolk’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 Suffolk
| West Suffolk + Suffolk | Barningham’s councils | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £499 | £499 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £226 | £226 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £36 | £44 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £31 | £36 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £96 | £102 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £46 | £45 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £24 | £39 | £26 |
| Public health | £54 | £55 | £78 |
| Running the council | £40 | £46 | £59 |
| Other | £17 | £24 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,116 | £1,162 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: West Suffolk per its residents plus Suffolk 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. Suffolk 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 Barningham 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.
westsuffolk.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
westsuffolk.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Barningham is run
Which council runs Barningham?
Barningham is run by West Suffolk District Council and Suffolk County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Barningham have a town council?
Yes: Barningham has its own parish-tier council (Barningham parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £139 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Barningham?
Dr Peter Prinsley (Labour) is the MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, which covers Barningham.
How many councillors does Barningham have?
1 ward councillors represent Barningham’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Barningham?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Barningham’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Barningham?
Band D council tax in Barningham is £2,385 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 Suffolk District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Conservative 22 · Labour 17 · West Suffolk Independents 9 · Independent 8 · Green 2 · Liberal Democrat 1 · Reform UK 1 of 60 seats; a majority needs 31. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Suffolk County Council?
The Conservatives have a majority: 51 of 75 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Barningham?
In Barningham’s wards on 4 May 2023, Conservative 1 of the 1 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 66.7%.
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.