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Town Hall & politics · Wyre Forest District Council

The Conservatives hold a majority on Wyre Forest District Council

Wolverley is run by Wyre Forest District Council and Worcestershire County Council, with Wolverley and Cookley parish council for local matters. The Conservatives have a majority on Wyre Forest District Council. No party holds a majority on Worcestershire County Council. Its MP is Mark Garnier (Conservative), member for Wyre Forest.

Council tax 2026–27

£2,485

Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.

Where it goes →
Band D council tax
£2,485
2026–27, a year
Ward councillors
3
1 ward · Wyre Forest
MP
Mark Garnier
Conservative · Wyre Forest
Turnout, July 2024
58%
Wyre Forest · England 60%
What stands out · In brief

How Wolverley’s politics has changed since 2021

A majority on Wyre Forest District Council

The Conservatives hold a majority on Wyre Forest District Council: 20 of its 33 seats as elected. Independents hold 6, Labour 4, the Liberal Democrats 2 and the Greens 1. Who’s in charge ↓

Worcestershire changed hands in 2025

Worcestershire County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (43 of 57 seats in 2021) to no overall control at the May 2025 election: Reform UK won 26 of 57 seats. Worcestershire ↓

Council tax

A Band D bill in Wolverley is £2,485 for 2026–27; Wyre Forest District Council keeps 10% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 55% 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’s in charge

Who holds the seats on Wolverley’s councils

Seats by party as elected. A party needs 17 of Wyre Forest’s 33 or 29 of Worcestershire’s 57 seats to run the council alone.

District council · 33 councillorsWyre Forest District CouncilConservative majority
GreenLabourLabourLabourLabourLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservative33seats
  • Conservative20
  • Independent6
  • Labour4
  • Liberal Democrat2
  • Green1

Latest election: May 2023.

County council · 57 councillors · Wolverley elects 1Worcestershire County CouncilNo overall control
GreenGreenGreenGreenGreenGreenGreenGreenLabourLabourLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratIndependentIndependentConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UKReform UK57seats
  • Reform UK26+26
  • Conservative12−31
  • Green8+3
  • Liberal Democrat7+4
  • Independent2no change
  • Labour2−2

Change against the council before the 1 May 2025 election.

GreenLabourLiberal DemocratIndependentConservativeReform UK

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.

Who runs Wolverley

Two tiers of council, and a parish tier

Wolverley has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.

Town or parish councilWolverley and Cookley parish council

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 Wolverley’s residents · Band D precept £52

District councilWyre Forest District Council

Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.

Website ↗
County councilWorcestershire County Council

Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.

Website ↗

Who to ask

Bins and recyclingWyre Forest District Council
Planning applicationsWyre Forest District Council
Council housing and homelessnessWyre Forest District Council
Council tax billsWyre Forest District Council
Parks and leisure centresWyre Forest District Council
Allotments, play areas, benchesWolverley and Cookley parish council
Potholes, roads and streetlightsWorcestershire County Council
Schools and school placesWorcestershire County Council
Adult and children’s social careWorcestershire County Council
LibrariesWorcestershire County Council
Tips and recycling centresWorcestershire County Council
Police priorities and budgetWest Mercia Police police and crime commissioner
Fire safety visitsHereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue

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.

Who represents Wolverley

From the parish to Westminster

Every elected tier that speaks for Wolverley, from the most recent elections.

  1. 1
    Town or parishParish tier
    Wolverley and Cookley parish council
  2. 2
    Wyre Forest District Council1 ward · 3 councillors
    Marcus John HartRobin Macdonald DrewIan David Hardiman
  3. 3
    Worcestershire County Council1 division · 1 councillor
    Jenny Shaw
  4. 4
    Police and crime commissionerWest Mercia Police · elected May 2024
    John-Paul Campion
  5. 5
    House of CommonsWyre Forest
ConservativeReform UK

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.

Councillors

3 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.

Wyre Forest Rural
1,208 residents · 13% in Wolverley
  • Marcus John HartConservative · May 2023
  • Robin Macdonald DrewConservative · May 2023
  • Ian David HardimanConservative · May 2023
ConservativeReform UK
Show as a table, with Worcestershire County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
WardSeatsElectedWhen
Wyre Forest Rural13% in Wolverley · 1,208 residents3 seats · May 20233
Marcus John HartRobin Macdonald DrewIan David Hardiman
May 2023

Worcestershire County Council: county divisions

DivisionSeatsElectedWhen
Cookley, Wolverley & Wribbenhall ED8% in Wolverley · 1,208 residents1 seat · May 20251
Jenny Shaw
May 2025

Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Wyre Forest 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).

Local elections

Wyre Forest council election, May 2023

Results in the wards that make up Wolverley, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.

Seats won in Wolverley’s wards3 seats · 4 May 2023
Conservative3

1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.

Next elections

No election is scheduled yet for Wolverley’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.

Who can I vote for? ↗
Wyre Forest Rural4 May 2023
Marcus John Hart ElectedConservative20.8%
Robin Macdonald Drew ElectedConservative19.3%
Ian David Hardiman ElectedConservative17.8%
Dean CoxLabour12.9%
David Paul JonesLabour11.8%
Kate SpohrerGreen5.5%
Gilda DavisGreen4.9%
Marcin Marek GoreckiLiberal Democrat4.2%
Dean Jon WarrenGreen2.9%

6,880 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratGreen

Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.

Parliament

Wolverley is in Wyre Forest constituency

The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Wolverley).

Wyre Forest · general election4 July 2024
Mark Garnier ElectedConservative32.1%
Vicki SmithLabour30.3%
Bill HopkinsReform UK21.4%
Shazu MiahLiberal Democrat6.2%
John DavisGreen5.4%
Leigh WhitehouseIndependent3.4%
Nigel GearyIndependent1.2%

45,158 votes for candidates · majority 812

MP for Wyre Forest

Mark Garnier

Conservative, MP since 6 May 2010.

58%

turnout in July 2024: 45,158 votes from 77,329 registered voters. England: 60%.

Majority 812 of 45,158 votes (1.8%): the 35th-narrowest of 543 in England.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKGreenIndependent

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.

Council money

Wolverley’s Band D council tax is £2,485 a year

Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.

COUNCIL TAXBand D · 2026–27 · a Band D home in Wolverley and Cookley
Wolverley and Cookley parish councilparish precept£52.44
Wyre Forest District Councildistrict council£258.08
Worcestershire County Councilcounty council£1,760.80
West Mercia police and crime commissionerpolice and crime£306.50
Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authorityfire and rescue£107.22
A year£2,485.04
Bills by band run from 6/9 of Band D (Band A) to 18/9 (Band H). Discounts and support reduce many bills.

Wyre Forest District Council keeps £258.08 of a Band D bill (10%); the rest goes to the Wolverley and Cookley parish council, Worcestershire County Council, the West Mercia police and crime commissioner and the Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority.

Band D since 1993

£0£500£1K£1.5K£2K£2.5K£3K1995200020052010201520202025England, 1993–94: £567.95England, 1994–95: £580.11England, 1995–96: £609.00England, 1996–97: £646.00England, 1997–98: £688.00England, 1998–99: £747.00England, 1999–00: £798.00England, 2000–01: £847.00England, 2001–02: £901.33England, 2002–03: £975.56England, 2003–04: £1,101.75England, 2004–05: £1,166.56England, 2005–06: £1,213.81England, 2006–07: £1,267.91England, 2007–08: £1,321.32England, 2008–09: £1,373.08England, 2009–10: £1,413.84England, 2010–11: £1,439.22England, 2011–12: £1,439.33England, 2012–13: £1,444.13England, 2013–14: £1,455.60England, 2014–15: £1,467.98England, 2015–16: £1,483.58England, 2016–17: £1,529.56England, 2017–18: £1,590.55England, 2018–19: £1,671.46England, 2019–20: £1,749.88England, 2020–21: £1,817.67England, 2021–22: £1,898.48England, 2022–23: £1,965.71England, 2023–24: £2,065.05England, 2024–25: £2,170.99England, 2025–26: £2,280.21England, 2026–27: £2,391.52Wyre Forest, 1993–94: £553.50Wyre Forest, 1994–95: £545.63Wyre Forest, 1995–96: £569.25Wyre Forest, 1996–97: £600.86Wyre Forest, 1997–98: £635.81Wyre Forest, 1998–99: £690.99Wyre Forest, 1999–00: £756.71Wyre Forest, 2000–01: £831.25Wyre Forest, 2001–02: £903.71Wyre Forest, 2002–03: £993.70Wyre Forest, 2003–04: £1,111.36Wyre Forest, 2004–05: £1,196.02Wyre Forest, 2005–06: £1,243.72Wyre Forest, 2006–07: £1,300.72Wyre Forest, 2007–08: £1,361.16Wyre Forest, 2008–09: £1,418.66Wyre Forest, 2009–10: £1,464.50Wyre Forest, 2010–11: £1,502.16Wyre Forest, 2011–12: £1,502.13Wyre Forest, 2012–13: £1,502.13Wyre Forest, 2013–14: £1,503.71Wyre Forest, 2014–15: £1,532.97Wyre Forest, 2015–16: £1,562.76Wyre Forest, 2016–17: £1,623.24Wyre Forest, 2017–18: £1,659.36Wyre Forest, 2018–19: £1,732.40Wyre Forest, 2019–20: £1,811.74Wyre Forest, 2020–21: £1,880.39Wyre Forest, 2021–22: £1,939.20Wyre Forest, 2022–23: £2,011.54Wyre Forest, 2023–24: £2,111.53Wyre Forest, 2024–25: £2,214.57Wyre Forest, 2025–26: £2,327.49Wyre Forest, 2026–27: £2,512.47Wyre Forest £2,512England £2,392

Wyre Forest’s Band D bill has risen 55% in ten years, from £1,623.24 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £553.50 in 1993–94.

Your bill by band

Band A 6/9£1,657
Band B 7/9£1,933
Band C 8/9£2,209
Band D 9/9£2,485
Band E 11/9£3,037
Band F 13/9£3,590
Band G 15/9£4,142
Band H 18/9£4,970

A Band D home in Wolverley and Cookley, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.

Worcestershire’s councils

Wychavon£2,373
Worcester£2,406
Malvern Hills£2,451
Redditch£2,463
Bromsgrove£2,479
Wyre Forest£2,512

Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,200.

Council budgets per resident, 2026–27

ServiceWyre Forest + Worcestershirevs England
Adult social care£457−£30
Children’s social care£278−£12
Roads and transport£70+£29
Housing (not council homes’ rents)£31−£30
Bins, street cleaning, environment£114−£5
Libraries, leisure, culture£41−£3
Planning and development£20−£6
Public health£66−£12
Running the council£72+£13
Other£20+£1
Wolverley’s councils, per residentEngland, all councils
Show as a table, with Worcestershire
Wyre Forest + WorcestershireWolverley’s councilsWorcestershireEngland
Adult social care£457£456£487
Children’s social care£278£279£290
Roads and transport£70£61£41
Housing (not council homes’ rents)£31£38£61
Bins, street cleaning, environment£114£125£119
Libraries, leisure, culture£41£40£44
Planning and development£20£25£26
Public health£66£66£78
Running the council£72£65£59
Other£20£31£19
Total, schools apart£1,168£1,186£1,234

Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Wyre Forest per its residents plus Worcestershire 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. Worcestershire 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.

Get involved

Having a say in how Wolverley is run

Register to vote

It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.

gov.uk ↗
Contact your councillors or MP

Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.

WriteToThem ↗
Report a pothole or a broken streetlight

GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.

gov.uk ↗
Watch or speak at a council meeting

Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.

wyreforestdc.gov.uk ↗
Comment on a planning application

Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.

wyreforestdc.gov.uk ↗
Stand for election

The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.

Electoral Commission ↗

Questions about how Wolverley is run

Which council runs Wolverley?

Wolverley is run by Wyre Forest District Council and Worcestershire County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.

Does Wolverley have a town council?

Yes: Wolverley has its own parish-tier council (Wolverley and Cookley parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £52 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.

Who is the MP for Wolverley?

Mark Garnier (Conservative) is the MP for Wyre Forest, which covers Wolverley.

How many councillors does Wolverley have?

3 ward councillors represent Wolverley’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.

When are the next elections in Wolverley?

No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Wolverley’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.

How much is council tax in Wolverley?

Band D council tax in Wolverley is £2,485 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).

Who controls Wyre Forest District Council?

The Conservatives have a majority: 20 of 33 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.

Who controls Worcestershire County Council?

No party has a majority. As elected, Reform UK 26 · Conservative 12 · Green 8 · Liberal Democrat 7 · Labour 2 · Independent 2 of 57 seats; a majority needs 29.

Who won the 2023 council election in Wolverley?

In Wolverley’s wards on 4 May 2023, Conservative 3 of the 3 seats up. The Conservatives had the largest share of votes, 57.8%.

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.