Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Babergh District Council
Bures is run by Babergh District Council, Braintree District Council, Suffolk County Council and Essex County Council, with Bures St. Mary parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Babergh District Council. The Conservatives have a majority on Braintree District Council, Suffolk County Council and Essex County Council. Most of Bures is in South Suffolk (MP James Cartlidge, Conservative); 35% of residents are in Braintree (MP Sir James Cleverly, Conservative).
£2,320
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Bures’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Babergh District Council
The Greens, the largest group, hold 10 of its 32 seats as elected, 7 short of the 17 needed. Independents hold 9, the Conservatives 7, the Liberal Democrats 4, Labour 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 ↓
Essex in 2021
Essex County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, has a Conservative majority at the May 2021 election: the Conservatives won 52 of 75 seats. Essex ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Bures is £2,321 for 2026–27; Babergh District Council keeps 9% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 51% 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 on Bures’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 17 of Babergh’s 32 or 25 of Braintree’s 49 or 38 of Suffolk’s 75 seats to run the council alone.
- Green10
- Independent9
- Conservative7
- Liberal Democrat4
- Labour1
- Reform UK1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Conservative26
- Labour9
- Independent6
- Green4
- Halstead Residents' Association3
- 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
Bures 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.
65% of Bures’s residents · Band D precept £86
The parish council for the part of Bures inside Bures Hamlet parish.
Who runs Bures: same source as Who runs Bures, above.
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
65% of Bures’s residents
Website ↗Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Who runs Bures: same source as Who runs Bures, above.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
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 Bures, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsBures St. Mary parish councilBures Hamlet parish council
- 2Council wards2 wards · 2 councillorsIsabelle ReeceDavid Peter Holland
- 3Suffolk County Council2 divisions · 2 councillorsJames FinchPeter Gordon Schwier
- 4Police and crime commissionerSuffolk Constabulary · elected May 2024Tim Passmore
- 5Police and crime commissionerEssex Police · elected May 2024Roger Charles Hirst
- 6House of CommonsSplit between 2 constituencies
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 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.
- Isabelle ReeceConservative · May 2023
- David Peter HollandConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Suffolk County Council’s 2 divisions (2 councillors)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bures St Mary & NaylandBabergh · 27% in Bures · 768 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Isabelle Reece | May 2023 |
| Stour Valley SouthBraintree · 14% in Bures · 415 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | David Peter Holland | May 2023 |
Suffolk County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stour Valley ED7% in Bures · 768 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | James Finch | May 2021 |
| Hedingham ED2% in Bures · 415 residents1 seat · May 2021 | 1 | Peter Gordon Schwier | May 2021 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Babergh 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).
Babergh council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Bures, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
2 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Bures’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗926 votes for candidates
926 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Bures is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Conservative, MP since 7 May 2015
65% of Bures’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 65% (England 60%).
Majority 3,047 of 48,801 votes (6.2%): the 118th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Conservative, MP since 7 May 2015
35% of Bures’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 63% (England 60%).
Majority 3,670 of 49,028 votes (7.5%): the 140th-narrowest of 543 in England.
48,801 votes for candidates · majority 3,047
Conservative, MP since 7 May 2015.
turnout in July 2024: 48,801 votes from 74,619 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,047 of 48,801 votes (6.2%): the 118th-narrowest of 543 in England.
Braintree
49,028 votes for candidates · majority 3,670
Conservative, MP since 7 May 2015.
turnout in July 2024: 49,028 votes from 77,673 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,670 of 49,028 votes (7.5%): the 140th-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.
Bures’s Band D council tax is £2,321 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Babergh District Council keeps £199.52 of a Band D bill (9%); the rest goes to the Bures St. Mary parish council, Suffolk County Council and the Suffolk police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
Babergh’s Band D bill has risen 51% in ten years, from £1,547.00 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £478.13 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Bures St. Mary, 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
| Babergh + Suffolk | Bures’s councils | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £499 | £499 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £226 | £226 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £50 | £44 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £31 | £36 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £89 | £102 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £32 | £45 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £34 | £39 | £26 |
| Public health | £54 | £55 | £78 |
| Running the council | £37 | £46 | £59 |
| Other | £17 | £24 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,117 | £1,162 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Babergh 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 Bures 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.
babergh.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
babergh.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Bures is run
Which council runs Bures?
Bures is run by Babergh District Council, Braintree District Council, Suffolk County Council and Essex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Bures have a town council?
Yes: Bures has its own parish-tier council (Bures St. Mary parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £86 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Bures?
Bures is split between 2 constituencies: South Suffolk (James Cartlidge, Conservative) and Braintree (Sir James Cleverly, Conservative). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Bures have?
2 ward councillors represent Bures’s 2 wards, and 2 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Bures?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Bures’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Bures?
Band D council tax in Bures is £2,320 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Babergh District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Green 10 · Independent 9 · Conservative 7 · Liberal Democrat 4 · Labour 1 · Reform UK 1 of 32 seats; a majority needs 17. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Braintree District Council?
The Conservatives have a majority: 26 of 49 seats as elected.
Who won the 2023 council election in Bures?
In Bures’s wards on 4 May 2023, Conservative 2 of the 2 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 49.6%.
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.