The local authorityCouncil · london_borough · England · 1 of 33 councils (london_borough)

Merton.

Labour Party-controlled london_borough. £208m net revenue. 20 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.

Typelondon_borough
Seats59 councillors · 20 wards
Last election7 May 2026
Websitemerton.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£208m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,094
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
32/59
Labour Party 54%
Westminster
2
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.

Merton is a london_borough controlled by Labour Party (32 of 59 seats). Net revenue is £208m for 2025-26. It covers 20 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.59 seats · last contested 7 May 2026

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 32LD 20Con 4Merton Park Ward Independent Residents 3

Labour Party 54% · last contested 7 May 2026

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Barry John SmithLDAbbey2026
John Matthew BraithwaiteLDAbbey2026
Klaar DresselaersLDAbbey2026
Asif AshrafLDCannon Hill2026
Richard David PooleLDCannon Hill2026
Robert James MitchellLDCannon Hill2026
Caroline Masue Cooper-MarbiahLabColliers Wood2026
Joanna SieradzinskaLabColliers Wood2026
Stuart NeaversonLabColliers Wood2026
Gill ManlyLabCricket Green2026
Michael Kevin ButcherLabCricket Green2026
Usaama KaweesaLabCricket Green2026
Showing 12 of 59·All 59 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

61%
Council tax
£126.5m · median 47%
28%
Central grants
£58.4m · median 38%
11%
Business rates
£23.2m · median 16%

This is a high-council-tax councils (london_borough): 61% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (47%).

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

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,604
County / upper-tier£490
Police£0
Fire & rescue£0
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£2,094

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 32 other councils (london_borough)

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

Education56.4% of net spend · cohort median 42%
2 of 33+35% vs median
Adult Social Care17.5% of net spend · cohort median 22%
30 of 33-19% vs median
Children's Services10.7% of net spend · cohort median 13%
29 of 33-18% vs median
Waste & Recycling4.7% of net spend · cohort median 4%
16 of 33+11% vs median
Housing & Homelessness3.8% of net spend · cohort median 6%
29 of 33-33% vs median
Corporate & Central2.8% of net spend · cohort median 3%
20 of 33-15% vs median
Public Health2.7% of net spend · cohort median 3%
31 of 33-24% vs median
Culture & Leisure1.6% of net spend · cohort median 2%
21 of 33-9% vs median
Highways & Transport0.3% of net spend · cohort median 1%
21 of 33-58% vs median
Planning & Economic Development-0.5% of net spend · cohort median 1%
32 of 33-148% 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.15,953 payments · £224.7m gross · 3 Dec 202531 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
GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY£25.81m11.5%13
REDACTED PERSONAL DATA£8.16m3.6%2,810
COMENSURA£7.05m3.1%30
NEWSCHOOLS (MERTON) LIMITED£5.71m2.5%4
VEOLIA ES (UK) LTD£5.29m2.4%13
CROYDON COUNCIL£4.21m1.9%13
FM CONWAY LTD£4.13m1.8%77
TRANSPORT TRADING LIMITED [SE1 0AL]£3.71m1.7%2
RICARDS LODGE SECONDARY SCHOOL£3.25m1.4%6
RUTLISH SCHOOL£3.20m1.4%5

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Corporate And CentralGREATER LONDON AUTHORITY£25.76m
EducationNEWSCHOOLS (MERTON) LIMITED£5.71m
Waste And RecyclingVEOLIA ES (UK) LTD£4.00m
Housing And HomelessnessTRANSPORT TRADING LIMITED [SE1 0AL]£3.71m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.20 wards split across 2 parliamentary seats

Merton’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
Mitcham and Morden1155% Siobhain McDonaghLab
Wimbledon945% Paul KohlerLD
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 london_borough — 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 32 other councils (london_borough)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
15,953 payments · 3 Dec 202531 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level