Photo: Andrew Abbott · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on North Warwickshire Borough Council
Atherstone is run by North Warwickshire Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council, with Atherstone parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on either North Warwickshire Borough Council or Warwickshire County Council. Its MP is Rachel Taylor (Labour), member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth.
£2,550
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Atherstone’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on North Warwickshire Borough Council
No party holds a majority on North Warwickshire Borough Council. The Conservatives, the largest group, hold 17 of its 35 seats as elected, one short of the 18 needed. Labour holds 13, independents 3 and Reform UK 2. Who’s in charge ↓
Warwickshire changed hands in 2025
Warwickshire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (42 of 57 seats in 2021) to no overall control at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 23 of 57 seats. Warwickshire ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Atherstone is £2,550 for 2026–27; North Warwickshire Borough Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 49% 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.
No party has a majority on either council
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 18 of North Warwickshire’s 35 or 29 of Warwickshire’s 57 seats to run the council alone.
- Conservative17
- Labour13
- Independent3
- Reform UK2
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK23+23
- Liberal Democrat14+9
- Conservative9−33
- Green7+4
- Labour3−3
- Whitnash Residents Association1no change
Change against the council before the 1 May 2025 election.
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
Atherstone 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 Atherstone’s residents · Band D precept £84
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 Atherstone, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierAtherstone parish council
- 2North Warwickshire Borough Council3 wards · 6 councillorsSteven WatsonNeil DirveiksRachel TaylorRay JarvisMejar SinghMartin Keith BarnettDenise Sandra Clews
- 3Warwickshire County Council1 division · 1 councillorRobert Gisbourne
- 4Police and crime commissionerWarwickshire Police · elected May 2024Philip Seccombe
- 5House of CommonsNorth Warwickshire and Bedworth
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.
6 councillors for 3 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.
- Steven WatsonReform UK · May 2025 · by-election
- Neil DirveiksLabour · May 2023
- Rachel TaylorLabour · May 2023
- Ray JarvisConservative · May 2023
- Mejar SinghConservative · May 2023
- Martin Keith BarnettLabour · May 2023
- Denise Sandra ClewsConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Warwickshire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atherstone Centralall in Atherstone · 4,170 residents2 seats · May 2025, May 2023 | 2 | Steven Watsonby-electionNeil DirveiksRachel Taylor | May 2025, May 2023 |
| Atherstone Northmostly in Atherstone · 3,206 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Ray JarvisMejar Singh | May 2023 |
| Atherstone South and Mancetter34% in Atherstone · 1,290 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Martin Keith BarnettDenise Sandra Clews | May 2023 |
Warwickshire County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atherstone EDmostly in Atherstone · 8,666 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Robert Gisbourne | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. North Warwickshire Borough 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).
North Warwickshire council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Atherstone, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
3 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Atherstone’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,216 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,491 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
1,674 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.
Atherstone is in North Warwickshire and Bedworth constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Atherstone).
40,940 votes for candidates · majority 2,198
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 40,940 votes from 69,752 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 2,198 of 40,940 votes (5.4%): the 104th-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.
Atherstone’s Band D council tax is £2,550 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
North Warwickshire Borough Council keeps £242.75 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Atherstone parish council, Warwickshire County Council and the Warwickshire police and crime commissioner.
Band D since 1993
North Warwickshire’s Band D bill has risen 49% in ten years, from £1,693.82 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £660.38 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Atherstone, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Warwickshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,300.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Warwickshire
| North Warwickshire + Warwickshire | Atherstone’s councils | Warwickshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £434 | £434 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £257 | £257 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £61 | £56 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £19 | £22 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £117 | £99 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £39 | £35 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £51 | £43 | £26 |
| Public health | £47 | £47 | £78 |
| Running the council | £51 | £69 | £59 |
| Other | £88 | £19 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,214 | £1,132 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: North Warwickshire per its residents plus Warwickshire 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. Warwickshire 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 Atherstone 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.
northwarks.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
northwarks.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Atherstone is run
Which council runs Atherstone?
Atherstone is run by North Warwickshire Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Atherstone have a town council?
Yes: Atherstone has its own parish-tier council (Atherstone parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £84 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Atherstone?
Rachel Taylor (Labour) is the MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, which covers Atherstone.
How many councillors does Atherstone have?
6 ward councillors represent Atherstone’s 3 wards, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Atherstone?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Atherstone’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Atherstone?
Band D council tax in Atherstone is £2,550 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls North Warwickshire Borough Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Conservative 17 · Labour 13 · Independent 3 · Reform UK 2 of 35 seats; a majority needs 18. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Warwickshire County Council?
As elected, Reform UK 23 · Liberal Democrat 14 · Conservative 9 · Green 7 · Labour 3 · Whitnash Residents Association 1 of 57 seats; a majority needs 29.
Who won the 2023 council election in Atherstone?
In Atherstone’s wards on 4 May 2023, Labour 3 · Conservative 3 of the 6 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 54.5%.
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.