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

Leicester.

Labour Party-controlled unitary. £424m net revenue. 21 wards across 3 parliamentary constituencies.

TypeUnitary
Seats55 councillors · 21 wards
Last election4 May 2023
Websiteleicester.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£424m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,408
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
32/55
Labour Party 58%
Westminster
3
constituencies overlap · 3 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, 3-party MP geography.

Leicester is a unitary controlled by Labour Party (32 of 55 seats). Net revenue is £424m for 2025-26. It covers 21 wards spanning 3 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 3 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.55 seats · last contested 4 May 2023

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 32Con 17Green 3LD 3

Labour Party 58% · last contested 4 May 2023

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Annette ByrneLabAbbey2023
Charleigh BarnesConAbbey2023
Nagarjun AgathConAbbey2023
Nigel PorterLDAylestone2023
Scott Kennedy-LountLDAylestone2023
Hazel OrtonConBeaumont Leys2023
Hemant Rae BhatiaConBeaumont Leys2023
Paul WestleyConBeaumont Leys2023
Jaiantilal GopalConBelgrave2023
Shital AdatiaConBelgrave2023
Yogesh ChauhanConBelgrave2023
Elaine HalfordLabBraunstone Park Rowley Fields2023
Showing 12 of 55·All 55 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

38%
Council tax
£163.2m · median 59%
44%
Central grants
£187.6m · median 30%
17%
Business rates
£73.5m · median 11%

This is a grant-heavy unitary authoritie: 38% 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£2,021
County / upper-tier£0
Police£300
Fire & rescue£87
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£2,408

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 Leicester 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.

Education40.2% of net spend · cohort median 36%
12 of 61+12% vs median
Adult Social Care25.7% of net spend · cohort median 27%
45 of 61-6% vs median
Children's Services12.2% of net spend · cohort median 15%
47 of 61-18% vs median
Waste & Recycling4.6% of net spend · cohort median 6%
51 of 61-20% vs median
Public Health4.4% of net spend · cohort median 4%
21 of 61+19% vs median
Housing & Homelessness3.7% of net spend · cohort median 2%
8 of 61+91% vs median
Corporate & Central3.0% of net spend · cohort median 3%
28 of 61+4% vs median
Culture & Leisure2.9% of net spend · cohort median 2%
16 of 61+33% vs median
Highways & Transport2.1% of net spend · cohort median 3%
43 of 61-20% vs median
Planning & Economic Development1.4% of net spend · cohort median 1%
30 of 61+1% 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.33,288 payments · £236.8m gross · 3 Dec 202529 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
BIFFA WASTE SERVICES LTD£9.59m4.0%49
ARRIVA MIDLANDS LTD£7.97m3.4%10
LOVELL PARTNERSHIPS LTD£7.92m3.3%10
CLICK TRAVEL LTD T/A PERK UK LTD£5.78m2.4%33
LEICESTER BSF COMPANY 2 LTD£3.56m1.5%25
LEICESTER BSF COMPANY 1 LTD£3.46m1.5%29
DSAT ASH FIELD ACADEMY£2.85m1.2%12
GAP PROPERTY SERVICES (LEICESTER) LTD£2.81m1.2%74
REDACTED£2.78m1.2%1,060
TURNING POINT SERVICES LTD FA SL&FSB£2.59m1.1%11

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Corporate And CentralARTHUR J GALLAGHER INSURANCE BROKERS LTD£2.30m
Planning And EconomicBIFFA WASTE SERVICES LTD£2.16m
Childrens ServicesDSAT ASH FIELD ACADEMY£1.68m
Housing And HomelessnessLOVELL PARTNERSHIPS LTD£1.60m
Public HealthTURNING POINT SERVICES LTD FA SL&FSB£0.77m
Adult Social CareMEDEQUIP ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD£0.44m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.21 wards split across 3 parliamentary seats

Leicester’s territory crosses 3 Westminster constituencies, with 3 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Leicester South838% Shockat AdamInd
Leicester West733% Liz KendallLab
Leicester East629% Shivani RajaCon
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 1 Ind, 1 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Labour Party-controlled unitary — 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 62 other unitary authorities
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
33,288 payments · 3 Dec 202529 Apr 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level