The local authorityCouncil · Unitary · England · 1 of 63 unitary authorities

Blackpool.

Labour Party-controlled unitary. £215m net revenue. 21 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.

TypeUnitary
Seats42 councillors · 21 wards
Last election4 May 2023
Websiteblackpool.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£215m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,392
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
28/42
Labour Party 67%
Westminster
2
constituencies overlap · 1 MP party
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, Labour Party MPs.

Blackpool is a unitary controlled by Labour Party (28 of 42 seats). Net revenue is £215m for 2025-26. It covers 21 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies.

§ 01Composition.42 seats · last contested 4 May 2023

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 28Con 14

Labour Party 67% · last contested 4 May 2023

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Anita CooperConAnchorsholme2023
Paul David Stuart GalleyConAnchorsholme2023
Paul William WilshawConBispham2023
Tony WarneConBispham2023
Jim HobsonLabBloomfield2023
Mel FenlonLabBloomfield2023
Laura MarshallLabBrunswick2023
Matthew Charles ThomasLabBrunswick2023
Ivan John TaylorLabClaremont2023
Lynn Suzanne WilliamsLabClaremont2023
Alistair James Duncan HumphreysLabClifton2023
Paula Ruth BurdessLabClifton2023
Showing 12 of 42·All 42 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

37%
Council tax
£79.3m · median 59%
47%
Central grants
£100.3m · median 30%
17%
Business rates
£35.8m · median 11%

This is a grant-heavy unitary authoritie: 37% from council tax vs the cohort median of 59%.

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£2,025
County / upper-tier£0
Police£277
Fire & rescue£90
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£2,392

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.10 buckets · vs 62 other unitary authorities

How does Blackpool split its revenue across services, compared with peer unitary authoritie-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Adult Social Care28.9% of net spend · cohort median 27%
21 of 61+6% vs median
Children's Services28.3% of net spend · cohort median 15%
1 of 61+91% vs median
Education21.5% of net spend · cohort median 36%
60 of 61-40% vs median
Waste & Recycling7.0% of net spend · cohort median 6%
13 of 61+21% vs median
Public Health6.7% of net spend · cohort median 4%
1 of 61+83% vs median
Culture & Leisure2.7% of net spend · cohort median 2%
21 of 61+23% vs median
Highways & Transport2.5% of net spend · cohort median 3%
34 of 61-3% vs median
Housing & Homelessness1.7% of net spend · cohort median 2%
35 of 61-11% vs median
Planning & Economic Development0.8% of net spend · cohort median 1%
49 of 61-40% vs median
Corporate & Central-0.1% of net spend · cohort median 3%
61 of 61-104% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.40,120 payments · £432.7m gross · 3 Dec 202530 Apr 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY£31.04m7.2%2
LONDON BOROUGH OF CAMDEN£20.05m4.6%1
WEST YORKSHIRE COMBINED AUTHORITY£15.48m3.6%2
REDACTED PERSONAL DATA£14.34m3.3%7,348
MUSE PLACES LIMITED£12.24m2.8%19
NORTH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL£10.26m2.4%2
POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR SUSSEX£10.21m2.4%1
LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL£9.24m2.1%59
LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL - DIRECT DEBIT ONLY - DO NOT USE£8.90m2.1%11
RHEA PROJECTS LTD£8.15m1.9%201

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Corporate And CentralREED SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT LTD£0.74m
EducationBLACKPOOL FC COMMUNITY TRUST£0.45m
Housing And HomelessnessBAMBERS REMEDIAL CONTRACTORS LIMITED£0.19m
Adult Social CareREDACTED PERSONAL DATA£0.08m
Childrens ServicesBLACKPOOL COASTAL HOUSING£0.05m
Highways And TransportKEY ENGINEERING SUPPLIES LTD£0.04m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.21 wards split across 2 parliamentary seats
ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Blackpool South1781% Chris WebbLab
Blackpool North and Fleetwood419% Lorraine BeaversLab
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 62 other unitary authorities
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
40,120 payments · 3 Dec 202530 Apr 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level