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The local authorityCouncil · district · England · 1 of 164 councils (district)

Exeter.

Labour Party-controlled district. £15m net revenue. 13 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.

Typedistrict
Seats39 councillors · 13 wards
Last election7 May 2026
Net revenue · 2025-26
£15m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,380
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
19/39
Labour Party 49%
Westminster
2
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.

Exeter is a district controlled by Labour Party (19 of 39 seats). Net revenue is £15m for 2025-26. It covers 13 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.39 seats · last contested 7 May 2026

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 19Green 10LD 5Con 2Ref 2Independent Berwick Hills Resident 1

Labour Party 49% · last contested 7 May 2026

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Lucy Jane FindlayLabAlphington2026
Rob HardingLabAlphington2024
Yvonne AtkinsonLabAlphington2023
Kevin MitchellLDDuryard St James2026
Tammy PalmerLDDuryard St James2024
Michael Norman MitchellLDDuryard St James2023
Paul Graeme KnottLabExwick2026
Philip Michael BialykLabExwick2024
Susannah PatrickLabExwick2023
Helen TerryGrnHeavitree2026
Stella SmithGrnHeavitree2026
Lucy HaighIndHeavitree2024
Showing 12 of 39·All 39 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

49%
Council tax
£7.3m · median 61%
34%
Central grants
£5.1m · median 26%
17%
Business rates
£2.6m · median 11%

This is a grant-heavy councils (district): 49% from council tax vs the cohort median of 61%.

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

Band-D bill.

Council slice£186
County / upper-tier£1,801
Police£288
Fire & rescue£105
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£2,380

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.6 buckets · vs 163 other councils (district)

How does Exeter split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (district)-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.

Culture & Leisure43.7% of net spend · cohort median 13%
1 of 158+226% vs median
Waste & Recycling39.3% of net spend · cohort median 32%
36 of 158+23% vs median
Housing & Homelessness37.5% of net spend · cohort median 14%
6 of 158+167% vs median
Corporate & Central26.5% of net spend · cohort median 27%
82 of 158-1% vs median
Planning & Economic Development-18.6% of net spend · cohort median 14%
157 of 158-229% vs median
Highways & Transport-28.5% of net spend · cohort median -2%
157 of 158
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.3,743 payments · £16.1m gross · 3 Dec 2025 – 15 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
MEARS LTD£2.72m16.9%447
STRATA SERVICE SOLUTIONS LTD£1.80m11.1%17
COMENSURA£0.99m6.1%315
SPECIALIST FLEET SERVICES LTD£0.66m4.1%377
EDF ENERGY CUSTOMERS LTD£0.47m2.9%74
CLC CONTRACTORS LTD£0.44m2.7%56
MERCURY CONSTRUCTION (SOUTH WEST) LTD£0.31m1.9%33
EXETER CVS (COLAB)£0.27m1.7%5
KIER CONSTRUCTION LTD£0.26m1.6%2
LIBERTY GAS GROUP LTD£0.24m1.5%21

By service area · top supplier

Service-classified supplier data not yet ingested for this council.

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.13 wards split across 2 parliamentary seats

Exeter’s territory crosses 2 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Exeter1077% Steve RaceLab
Exmouth and Exeter East323% David ReedCon
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 1 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Labour Party-controlled district — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

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 163 other councils (district)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
3,743 payments · 3 Dec 2025 – 15 Apr 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level