Photo: My another account · Public domainNo party holds a majority on Wiltshire Council
Rowde is run by Wiltshire Council, with Rowde parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on Wiltshire Council. Its MP is Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat), member for Melksham and Devizes.
£2,497
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Rowde’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 ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Rowde is £2,497 for 2026–27; Wiltshire Council keeps 79% 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 Rowde
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 Rowde’s residents · Band D precept £121
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 Rowde, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierRowde parish council
- 2Wiltshire Council1 ward · 1 councillorLaura Evelyn Mayes
- 3Police and crime commissionerWiltshire Police · elected May 2024Philip Wilkinson
- 4House of CommonsMelksham and Devizes
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.
- Laura Evelyn MayesConservative · May 2025
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bromham, Rowde & Roundway17% in Rowde · 864 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Laura Evelyn Mayes | 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).
Wiltshire council election, May 2025
Results in the wards that make up Rowde, 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 Rowde’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,620 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Rowde is in Melksham and Devizes constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Rowde).
51,203 votes for candidates · majority 2,401
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 51,203 votes from 73,482 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 2,401 of 51,203 votes (4.7%): the 90th-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.
Rowde’s Band D council tax is £2,497 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 (79%); the rest goes to the Rowde 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 Rowde, 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 | Rowde’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 Rowde 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 Rowde is run
Which council runs Rowde?
Rowde is run by Wiltshire Council.
Does Rowde have a town council?
Yes: Rowde has its own parish-tier council (Rowde parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £121 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Rowde?
Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Melksham and Devizes, which covers Rowde.
How many councillors does Rowde have?
1 ward councillors represent Rowde’s 1 ward.
When are the next elections in Rowde?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Rowde’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Rowde?
Band D council tax in Rowde is £2,497 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 Rowde?
In Rowde’s wards on 1 May 2025, Conservative 1 of the 1 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 60.7%.
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.