Photo: Antiquary · CC BY 3.0The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Horsham District Council
Upper Beeding is run by Horsham District Council and West Sussex County Council, with Upper Beeding parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on Horsham District Council. No party holds a majority on West Sussex County Council. Its MP is Andrew Griffith (Conservative), member for Arundel and South Downs.
£2,531
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Upper Beeding’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Horsham District Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on Horsham District Council: 27 of its 48 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 11, the Greens 9 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
West Sussex changed hands in 2026
West Sussex County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (45 of 70 seats in 2021) to no overall control at the May 2026 election: the Liberal Democrats won 23 of 70 seats. West Sussex ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Upper Beeding is £2,537 for 2026–27; Horsham District Council keeps 7% 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 Upper Beeding’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 25 of Horsham’s 48 or 36 of West Sussex’s 70 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat27
- Conservative11
- Green9
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Liberal Democrat23+11
- Reform UK23+23
- Conservative11−34
- Green7+6
- Labour5−4
- Local Alliance1no change
- Independent0−2
Change against the council before the 7 May 2026 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
Upper Beeding 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.
93% of Upper Beeding’s residents · Band D precept £177
The parish council for the part of Upper Beeding inside Bramber parish.
Who runs Upper Beeding: same source as Who runs Upper Beeding, above.
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 Upper Beeding, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parish2 parish councilsUpper Beeding parish councilBramber parish council
- 2Horsham District Council1 ward · 2 councillorsMike CrokerRoger Noel
- 3West Sussex County Council1 division · 1 councillorVictoria Finnegan
- 4Police and crime commissionerSussex Police · elected May 2024Katy Bourne
- 5House of CommonsArundel and South Downs
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 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.
- Mike CrokerGreen · May 2023
- Roger NoelConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with West Sussex County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bramber, Upper Beeding & Woodmancotemostly in Upper Beeding · 3,100 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Mike CrokerRoger Noel | May 2023 |
West Sussex County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bramber Castle ED27% in Upper Beeding · 3,100 residents1 seat · May 2026 | 1 | Victoria Finnegan | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Horsham 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).
Horsham council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Upper Beeding, 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 Upper Beeding’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗2,465 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.
Upper Beeding is in Arundel and South Downs constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Upper Beeding).
54,740 votes for candidates · majority 12,134
Conservative, MP since 12 December 2019.
turnout in July 2024: 54,740 votes from 77,969 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 12,134 of 54,740 votes (22.2%): wider than in 71% of England’s 543 constituencies.
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.
Upper Beeding’s Band D council tax is £2,537 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Horsham District Council keeps £187.71 of a Band D bill (7%); the rest goes to the Upper Beeding parish council, West Sussex County Council and the Sussex police and crime commissioner.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,531 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Horsham’s Band D bill has risen 58% in ten years, from £1,544.38 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £477.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Upper Beeding, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
West Sussex’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 West Sussex
| Horsham + West Sussex | Upper Beeding’s councils | West Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £414 | £412 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £255 | £255 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £54 | £60 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £22 | £46 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £150 | £154 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £41 | £41 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £49 | £35 | £26 |
| Public health | £56 | £56 | £78 |
| Running the council | £39 | £46 | £59 |
| Other | £12 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,139 | £1,165 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Horsham per its residents plus West Sussex 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. West Sussex 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 Upper Beeding 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.
horsham.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
horsham.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Upper Beeding is run
Which council runs Upper Beeding?
Upper Beeding is run by Horsham District Council and West Sussex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Upper Beeding have a town council?
Yes: Upper Beeding has its own parish-tier council (Upper Beeding parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £177 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Upper Beeding?
Andrew Griffith (Conservative) is the MP for Arundel and South Downs, which covers Upper Beeding.
How many councillors does Upper Beeding have?
2 ward councillors represent Upper Beeding’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Upper Beeding?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Upper Beeding’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Upper Beeding?
Band D council tax in Upper Beeding is £2,531 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Horsham District Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 27 of 48 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls West Sussex County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 23 · Reform UK 23 · Conservative 11 · Green 7 · Labour 5 · Local Alliance 1 of 70 seats; a majority needs 36.
Who won the 2023 council election in Upper Beeding?
In Upper Beeding’s wards on 4 May 2023, Green 1 · Conservative 1 of the 2 seats up. The Greens had the largest share of votes, 38.1%.
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.