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

Harlow.

Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled district. £14m net revenue. 11 wards across 1 parliamentary constituency.

Typedistrict
Seats23 councillors · 11 wards
Last election7 May 2026
Net revenue · 2025-26
£14m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,216
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
18/23
Conservative and Unionist Party 78%
Westminster
1
constituencies overlap
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Conservative and Unionist Party chamber, opposed area.

Harlow is a district controlled by Conservative and Unionist Party (18 of 23 seats). Net revenue is £14m for 2025-26. It covers 11 wards spanning 1 parliamentary constituencies.

§ 01Composition.23 seats · last contested 7 May 2026

Who sits in the chamber.

Con 18Lab 5

Conservative and Unionist Party 78% · last contested 7 May 2026

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Geoff LongsterConBush Fair2026
Michael Edward HardwareConChurch Langley North Newhall2026
Andrew Edward JohnsonConChurch Langley North Newhall2024
Dan SwordsConChurch Langley North Newhall2024
James LeppardConChurch Langley South Potter Street2026
Danielle Sophia BrownConChurch Langley South Potter Street2024
Nicky PurseConChurch Langley South Potter Street2024
Matthew Richard SaggersConGreat Parndon2026
John SteerConLatton Bush Stewards2026
Alastair Hunter GunnConLatton Bush Stewards2024
Luke Patrick HowardLabLatton Bush Stewards2024
Simon Nicholas CarterConLittle Parndon Town Centre2026
Showing 12 of 23·All 23 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

61%
Council tax
£8.7m · median 61%
26%
Central grants
£3.7m · median 26%
13%
Business rates
£1.8m · median 11%

Revenue mix is close to the councils (district) median: 61% council tax, 26% central grants.

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

Band-D bill.

Council slice£289
County / upper-tier£1,580
Police£260
Fire & rescue£88
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£2,216

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.8 buckets · vs 163 other councils (district)

How does Harlow 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.

Corporate & Central36.3% of net spend · cohort median 27%
36 of 158+35% vs median
Culture & Leisure25.7% of net spend · cohort median 13%
12 of 158+92% vs median
Waste & Recycling21.4% of net spend · cohort median 32%
146 of 158-33% vs median
Housing & Homelessness16.5% of net spend · cohort median 14%
53 of 158+18% vs median
Highways & Transport6.1% of net spend · cohort median -2%
2 of 158
Children's Services1.6% of net spend · cohort median 1%
3 of 9+28% vs median
Adult Social Care1.1% of net spend · cohort median 1%
12 of 24+41% vs median
Planning & Economic Development-8.6% of net spend · cohort median 14%
153 of 158-159% 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.2,945 payments · £55.6m gross · 3 Dec 2025 – 31 Mar 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
HTS (PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT) LTD£18.49m33.2%75
HILL PARTNERSHIPS LIMITED£8.55m15.4%65
BROWNE JACOBSON LLP£4.37m7.9%26
LAMYA CONSTRUCTION LTD£3.97m7.1%237
CHAS BERGER£3.46m6.2%56
MATRIX SCM LIMITED£1.64m2.9%189
VEOLIA ES UK LTD£1.33m2.4%30
WOODFORDS CONSTRUCTION LTD£0.89m1.6%66
R B WHITBREAD (PLANT HIRE) LTD£0.68m1.2%40
COURTENAY BUILDING CONTRACTORS£0.44m0.8%29

By service area · top supplier

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

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.11 wards split across 1 parliamentary seat
ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Harlow11100% Chris VinceInd
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
2,945 payments · 3 Dec 2025 – 31 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level