Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0No party holds a majority on Wiltshire Council
Mere is run by Wiltshire Council, with Mere parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Wiltshire Council. Its MP is Dr Andrew Murrison (Conservative), member for South West Wiltshire.
£2,549
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Mere’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Wiltshire Council
The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 43 of its 98 seats as elected, 7 short of the 50 needed (it held 29 before the May 2025 election). The Conservatives hold 37, Reform UK 10, independents 7 and Labour 1. Who’s in charge ↓
The 2025 vote
Across Mere’s wards, independents took 64.3%, Reform UK took 13.8% and the Conservatives took 10.7% of votes in May 2025. In 2021, independents had 72.7%. How Mere has voted ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Mere is £2,549 for 2026–27; Wiltshire Council keeps 78% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 61% 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
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 50 of Wiltshire’s 98 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat43+14
- Conservative37−22
- Reform UK10+10
- Independent7no change
- Labour1−2
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.
The councils that run Mere
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.
100% of Mere’s residents · Band D precept £173
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
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 Mere, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierMere parish council
- 2Wiltshire Council1 ward · 1 councillorGeorge Edwin Jeans
- 3Police and crime commissionerWiltshire Police · elected May 2024Philip Wilkinson
- 4House of CommonsSouth West Wiltshire
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.
1 councillor 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.
- George Edwin JeansIndependent · May 2025
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meremostly in Mere · 2,808 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | George Edwin Jeans | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Wiltshire 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).
Independents have led every council vote since 2021
Share of all votes cast for candidates in Mere’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 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 4.3% | 8.9% |
| Labour | 9.7% | 0% |
| Independent | 72.7% | 64.3% |
| Conservative | 13.3% | 10.7% |
| Reform UK | 0% | 13.8% |
In 2025, independents won 1 of the 1 seats up in Mere’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.
Wiltshire council election, May 2025
Results in the wards that make up Mere, 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 Mere’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,713 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Mere is in South West Wiltshire constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Mere).
46,168 votes for candidates · majority 3,243
Conservative, MP since 7 June 2001.
turnout in July 2024: 46,168 votes from 73,071 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 3,243 of 46,168 votes (7%): the 132nd-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.
Mere’s Band D council tax is £2,549 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Wiltshire Council keeps £1,981.15 of a Band D bill (78%); the rest goes to the Mere parish council, the Wiltshire police and crime commissioner and the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 2009
Wiltshire’s Band D bill has risen 61% in ten years, from £1,594.72 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £1,475.10 in 2009–10.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Mere, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Wiltshire
| Wiltshire | Mere’s councils | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £523 | £504 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £154 | £223 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £60 | £52 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £37 | £39 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £133 | £118 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £38 | £33 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £25 | £21 | £26 |
| Public health | £49 | £54 | £78 |
| Running the council | £22 | £21 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £0 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,041 | £1,064 | £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. Wiltshire 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 Mere 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.
wiltshire.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
wiltshire.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Mere is run
Which council runs Mere?
Mere is run by Wiltshire Council.
Does Mere have a town council?
Yes: Mere has its own parish-tier council (Mere parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £173 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Mere?
Dr Andrew Murrison (Conservative) is the MP for South West Wiltshire, which covers Mere.
How many councillors does Mere have?
1 ward councillors represent Mere’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Mere?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Mere’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Mere?
Band D council tax in Mere is £2,549 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Wiltshire Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 43 · Conservative 37 · Reform UK 10 · Independent 7 · Labour 1 of 98 seats; a majority needs 50. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2025 council election in Mere?
In Mere’s wards on 1 May 2025, Independent 1 of the 1 seats up. Independents had the largest share of votes, 64.3%.
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.