Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0Reform UK holds a majority on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Wakefield is run by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Reform UK has a majority on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Most of Wakefield is in Wakefield and Rothwell (MP Simon Lightwood, Labour); 15% of residents are in Ossett and Denby Dale (MP Jade Botterill, Labour).
£2,260
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Wakefield’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Reform UK holds a majority on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council: 58 of its 63 seats as elected. The Liberal Democrats hold 2, the Greens 1, Labour 1 and the Conservatives 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Wakefield is £2,259 for 2026–27; Wakefield Metropolitan District Council keeps 84% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 59% 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
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 32 of Wakefield’s 63 seats to run the council alone.
- Reform UK58
- Liberal Democrat2
- Conservative1
- Green1
- Labour1
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 Wakefield
One council runs every main service here.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
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.
All of Wakefield 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 Wakefield, from the most recent elections.
- 1Wakefield Metropolitan District Council6 wards · 18 councillorsReform UK 15 · Green 1 · Labour 1 · Conservative 1 · all 18
- 2Mayor of West Yorkshire Combined AuthorityWest Yorkshire Combined Authority · elected May 2024Tracy Brabin
- 3House 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.
18 councillors for 6 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.
- Andrew WakefieldReform UK · May 2026
- Kate DoddGreen · May 2026
- Troy David MoxonReform UK · May 2026
- Samantha HarveyReform UK · May 2026
- Paul JacksonReform UK · May 2026
- Gareth ThomasReform UK · May 2026
- Ian FletcherReform UK · May 2026
- Cliff GurdinReform UK · May 2026
- Nadeem AhmedConservative · May 2026
- David Alan DewsReform UK · May 2026
- Graham John RidlerReform UK · May 2026
- Ian SheldrakeReform UK · May 2026
- Yubi AyubLabour · May 2026
- Steve ParkerReform UK · May 2026
- Wayne BeddoesReform UK · May 2026
- Karl JohnsonReform UK · May 2026
- John Alan EvansReform UK · May 2026
- Geoffrey Ian JohnstonReform UK · May 2026
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield Northall in Wakefield · 17,558 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Andrew WakefieldKate DoddTroy David Moxon | May 2026 |
| Wakefield Westall in Wakefield · 16,737 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Samantha HarveyPaul JacksonGareth Thomas | May 2026 |
| Wakefield Southall in Wakefield · 16,649 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Ian FletcherCliff GurdinNadeem Ahmed | May 2026 |
| Wrenthorpe & Outwood Westmostly in Wakefield · 16,269 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | David Alan DewsGraham John RidlerIan Sheldrake | May 2026 |
| Wakefield Eastall in Wakefield · 15,683 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Yubi AyubSteve ParkerWayne Beddoes | May 2026 |
| Stanley & Outwood Eastmostly in Wakefield · 14,760 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Karl JohnsonJohn Alan EvansGeoffrey Ian Johnston | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Wakefield 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).
Wakefield council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Wakefield, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
6 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Wakefield’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗12,043 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
12,097 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
14,743 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Every ward’s result (3 more)
16,034 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
12,089 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
16,531 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.
Wakefield is split between 2 constituencies
The constituencies’ MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result.
Labour, MP since 23 June 2022
85% of Wakefield’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 54% (England 60%).
Majority 9,346 of 40,656 votes (23%): wider than in 73% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024
15% of Wakefield’s residents live in this constituency.
Turnout 61% (England 60%).
Majority 4,542 of 43,873 votes (10.4%): the 193rd-narrowest of 543 in England.
40,656 votes for candidates · majority 9,346
Labour, MP since 23 June 2022.
turnout in July 2024: 40,656 votes from 75,067 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 9,346 of 40,656 votes (23%): wider than in 73% of England’s 543 constituencies.
Ossett and Denby Dale
43,873 votes for candidates · majority 4,542
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 43,873 votes from 72,312 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 4,542 of 43,873 votes (10.4%): the 193rd-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.
Wakefield’s Band D council tax is £2,259 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council keeps £1,891.63 of a Band D bill (84%); the rest goes to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Wakefield’s Band D bill has risen 59% in ten years, from £1,445.97 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £648.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Wakefield, 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
| Wakefield | Wakefield’s councils | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £461 | £435 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £276 | £312 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £37 | £25 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £38 | £42 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £150 | £119 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £65 | £61 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £24 | £22 | £26 |
| Public health | £104 | £89 | £78 |
| Running the council | £89 | £64 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £13 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,243 | £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 Wakefield 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.
wakefield.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
wakefield.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Wakefield is run
Does Wakefield have a town council?
No. Wakefield is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Wakefield?
Wakefield is split between 2 constituencies: Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood, Labour) and Ossett and Denby Dale (Jade Botterill, Labour). Parliament’s Find your MP service matches a postcode to its MP.
How many councillors does Wakefield have?
18 ward councillors represent Wakefield’s 6 wards.
When are the next elections in Wakefield?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Wakefield’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Wakefield?
Band D council tax in Wakefield is £2,260 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Wakefield Metropolitan District Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 58 of 63 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Wakefield?
In Wakefield’s wards on 7 May 2026, Reform UK 15 · Green 1 · Labour 1 · Conservative 1 of the 18 seats up. Reform UK had the largest share of votes, 38%.
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.