Photo: Richard Vince · CC BY-SA 2.0Reform UK holds a majority on Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
Darlaston is run by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Reform UK has a majority on Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Most of Darlaston is in Wolverhampton South East (MP Pat McFadden, Labour); 9% of residents are in Tipton and Wednesbury (MP Antonia Bance, Labour).
£2,594
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Darlaston’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
Reform UK holds a majority on Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council: 40 of its 60 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 10, Walsall Community Independents Party 8, Labour 1 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Darlaston is £2,627 for 2026–27; Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 87% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 58% 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 Darlaston’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 31 of Walsall’s 60 or 37 of Sandwell’s 72 seats to run the council alone.
- Reform UK40
- Conservative10
- Walsall Community Independents Party8
- Independent1
- Labour1
Latest election: May 2026.
- Reform UK41
- Labour28
- Green2
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2026.
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 Darlaston
One council runs every main service here.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
91% of Darlaston’s residents
Website ↗Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Who runs Darlaston: same source as Who runs Darlaston, above.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Richard Parker (Labour and Co-operative), elected May 2024
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
All of Darlaston is unparished: there is no parish or town council, so the council runs local matters itself and no parish precept is added to the bill.
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 council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Darlaston, from the most recent elections.
- 1Council wards3 wards · 9 councillorsReform UK 9 · all 9
- 2Mayor of West Midlands Combined AuthorityWest Midlands Combined Authority · elected May 2024Richard Parker
- 3Police and crime commissionerWest Midlands Police · elected May 2024Simon John Foster
- 4House 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.
9 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.
- Peter Raymond BurtonReform UK · May 2026
- David John BaileyReform UK · May 2026
- Jenny NockReform UK · May 2026
- Michael Edward BarkerReform UK · May 2026
- Paul Antony LunnReform UK · May 2026
- Ramtirth SinghReform UK · May 2026
- Jeremy John HandleyReform UK · May 2026
- Owen Michael NelsonReform UK · May 2026
- Paul SnapeReform UK · May 2026
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darlaston SouthWalsall · mostly in Darlaston · 13,299 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Peter Raymond BurtonDavid John BaileyJenny Nock | May 2026 |
| Bentley & Darlaston NorthWalsall · 43% in Darlaston · 6,360 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Michael Edward BarkerPaul Antony LunnRamtirth Singh | May 2026 |
| WednesburySandwell · 12% in Darlaston · 1,882 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Jeremy John HandleyOwen Michael NelsonPaul Snape | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Walsall Metropolitan 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).
Walsall council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Darlaston, 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 Darlaston’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗8,778 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
8,987 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
10,393 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Darlaston is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 5 May 2005
91% of Darlaston’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 43% (England 60%).
Majority 9,188 of 33,382 votes (27.5%): wider than in 82% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
9% of Darlaston’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 43% (England 60%).
Majority 3,385 of 31,850 votes (10.6%): the 201st-narrowest of 543 in England.
33,382 votes for candidates · majority 9,188
Labour, MP since 5 May 2005.
turnout in July 2024: 33,382 votes from 77,473 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 9,188 of 33,382 votes (27.5%): wider than in 82% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Tipton and Wednesbury
31,850 votes for candidates · majority 3,385
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 31,850 votes from 74,098 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,385 of 31,850 votes (10.6%): the 201st-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.
Darlaston’s Band D council tax is £2,627 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £2,297.79 of a Band D bill (87%); the rest goes to the West Midlands police and crime commissioner and the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,594 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Walsall’s Band D bill has risen 58% in ten years, from £1,663.29 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £591.75 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Walsall, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
West Midlands’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,000.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with West Midlands
| Walsall | Darlaston’s councils | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £526 | £502 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £409 | £351 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £72 | £92 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £45 | £59 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £102 | £111 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £51 | £46 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £40 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £80 | £106 | £78 |
| Running the council | £72 | £41 | £59 |
| Other | £73 | £25 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,469 | £1,349 | £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. West Midlands 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 Darlaston 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.
go.walsall.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
go.walsall.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Darlaston is run
Does Darlaston have a town council?
No. Darlaston is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Darlaston?
Darlaston is split between 2 constituencies: Wolverhampton South East (Pat McFadden, Labour) and Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Darlaston have?
9 ward councillors represent Darlaston’s 3 wards.
When are the next elections in Darlaston?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Darlaston’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Darlaston?
Band D council tax in Darlaston is £2,594 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 40 of 60 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Darlaston?
In Darlaston’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 9 of the 9 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 45.2%.
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.