Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0No party holds a majority on the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Menston is run by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Leeds City Council, with Menston parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on either the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council or Leeds City Council. Most of Menston is in Shipley (MP Anna Dixon, Labour); 23% of residents are in Leeds North West (MP Katie White, Labour).
£2,366
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Menston’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
No party holds a majority on the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Reform UK, the largest group, holds 28 of its 90 seats as elected, 18 short of the 46 needed. The Conservatives hold 18, Labour 17, the Greens 9, Your Bradford Independent group 9, the Liberal Democrats 4 and independents 4. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2026 vote
Across Menston’s wards, the Conservatives took 31.3%, Labour took 25.1% and the Greens took 22.5% of votes in May 2026. In 2024, the Conservatives had 36%. How Menston has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Menston is £2,394 for 2026–27; the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council keeps 82% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 67% 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 46 of Bradford’s 90 or 50 of Leeds’s 99 seats to run the council alone.
- Reform UK28
- Conservative18
- Labour17
- Green9
- Your Bradford Independent group9
- Independent4
- Liberal Democrat4
Latest election: May 2026.
- Labour48
- Conservative15
- Green12
- Reform UK9
- Liberal Democrat6
- Garforth and Swillington Independents Party3
- Morley Borough Independents3
- Social Democratic Party3
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 Menston
One council runs every main service here.
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.
77% of Menston’s residents · Band D precept £61
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
77% of Menston’s residents
Website ↗Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Who runs Menston: same source as Who runs Menston, above.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Tracy Brabin (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.
23% of Menston’s residents live outside any parish, with no parish council.
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 Menston, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierMenston parish council
- 2Council wards2 wards · 4 councillorsBob FelsteadLottie KitchingPeter Sidney CochraneEleanor Frances Thomson
- 3Mayor of West Yorkshire Combined AuthorityWest Yorkshire Combined Authority · elected May 2024Tracy Brabin
- 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.
4 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.
- Bob FelsteadConservative · May 2026
- Lottie KitchingGreen · May 2026
- Peter Sidney CochraneConservative · May 2026
- Eleanor Frances ThomsonLabour and Co-operative · May 2026
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| WharfedaleBradford · 31% in Menston · 4,563 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Bob FelsteadLottie KitchingPeter Sidney Cochrane | May 2026 |
| Guiseley & RawdonLeeds · 5% in Menston · 1,342 residents1 seat · May 2026 | 1 | Eleanor Frances Thomson | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. City of Bradford Metropolitan 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).
Who led each council vote, 2021–2026
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Menston’s wards at each scheduled council election since 2021. A gap is a year with no election here.
Seats won at each election
Show as a table
| Party | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 5.2% | 3.5% | 4.4% | 4.7% | 22.5% |
| Labour | 36% | 48% | 46.9% | 46.6% | 25.1% |
| Conservative | 45.8% | 36.6% | 37.4% | 36% | 31.3% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 17.3% |
| Yorkshire Party | 9.5% | 8.5% | 7.5% | 8.7% | 1.1% |
In 2026, the Conservatives won 2, the Greens won 1 and Labour won 1 of the 4 seats up in Menston’s wards.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Where a ward elects several councillors at once, each voter has that many votes; all of them count here.
Bradford council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Menston, 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 Menston’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗19,783 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
9,202 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Menston is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
77% of Menston’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 65% (England 60%).
Majority 8,603 of 48,303 votes (17.8%): wider than in 61% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
23% of Menston’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 70% (England 60%).
Majority 11,896 of 49,777 votes (23.9%): wider than in 76% of England’s 543 constituencies.
48,303 votes for candidates · majority 8,603
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 48,303 votes from 74,130 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 8,603 of 48,303 votes (17.8%): wider than in 61% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Leeds North West
49,777 votes for candidates · majority 11,896
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 49,777 votes from 71,592 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 11,896 of 49,777 votes (23.9%): wider than in 76% 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.
Menston’s Band D council tax is £2,394 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council keeps £1,965.28 of a Band D bill (82%); the rest goes to the Menston parish council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Across the whole town the average Band D is £2,366 (parishes differ; weighted by residents).
Band D since 1993
Bradford’s Band D bill has risen 67% in ten years, from £1,414.28 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £517.50 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Menston, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
West Yorkshire’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,100.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with West Yorkshire
| Bradford | Menston’s councils | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £386 | £435 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £450 | £312 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £15 | £25 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £45 | £42 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £103 | £119 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £40 | £61 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £35 | £22 | £26 |
| Public health | £106 | £89 | £78 |
| Running the council | £73 | £64 | £59 |
| Other | £94 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,347 | £1,182 | £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 Yorkshire 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 Menston 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.
bradford.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
bradford.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Menston is run
Which council runs Menston?
Menston is run by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Leeds City Council.
Does Menston have a town council?
Yes: Menston has its own parish-tier council (Menston parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £61 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Menston?
Menston is split between 2 constituencies: Shipley (Anna Dixon, Labour) and Leeds North West (Katie White, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Menston have?
4 ward councillors represent Menston’s 2 wards.
When are the next elections in Menston?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Menston’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Menston?
Band D council tax in Menston is £2,366 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Reform UK 28 · Conservative 18 · Labour 17 · Green 9 · Your Bradford Independent group 9 · Liberal Democrat 4 · Independent 4 of 90 seats; a majority needs 46. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Leeds City Council?
As elected, Labour 48 · Conservative 15 · Green 12 · Reform UK 9 · Liberal Democrat 6 · Morley Borough Independents 3 · Social Democratic Party 3 · Garforth and Swillington Independents Party 3 of 99 seats; a majority needs 50.
Who won the 2026 council election in Menston?
In Menston’s wards on 7 May 2026, Conservative 2 · Green 1 · Labour 1 of the 4 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 31.3%.
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.