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

Milton Keynes.

Labour Party-controlled unitary. £283m net revenue. 19 wards across 3 parliamentary constituencies.

TypeUnitary
Seats57 councillors · 19 wards
Last election2 May 2024
Websitemilton-keynes.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£283m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,258
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
29/57
Labour Party 51%
Westminster
3
constituencies overlap · 1 MP party
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, Labour Party MPs.

Milton Keynes is a unitary controlled by Labour Party (29 of 57 seats). Net revenue is £283m for 2025-26. It covers 19 wards spanning 3 parliamentary constituencies.

§ 01Composition.57 seats · last contested 2 May 2024

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 29LD 18Con 10

Labour Party 51% · last contested 2 May 2024

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Ed HumeLabBletchley East2024
Emily DarlingtonLabBletchley East2023
Mohammed Delwar KhanLabBletchley East2022
Ayesha KhanomLabBletchley Park2024
Waqas AhmadLabBletchley Park2023
Nigel Matthew LongLabBletchley Park2022
Hannah O'NeillLabBletchley West2024
Lauren TownsendLabBletchley West2023
Mick LeggLabBletchley West2022
Marie BradburnLDBradwell2024
Robin Martin BradburnLDBradwell2023
Rex ExonLDBradwell2022
Showing 12 of 57·All 57 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

62%
Council tax
£176.0m · median 59%
27%
Central grants
£77.3m · median 30%
10%
Business rates
£29.5m · median 11%

Revenue mix is close to the unitary authorities median: 62% council tax, 27% 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£1,760
County / upper-tier£0
Police£283
Fire & rescue£84
GLA precept£0
Parish average£131
Total Band-D£2,258

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 Milton Keynes 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.

Education41.4% of net spend · cohort median 36%
10 of 61+16% vs median
Adult Social Care25.3% of net spend · cohort median 27%
48 of 61-7% vs median
Children's Services14.8% of net spend · cohort median 15%
31 of 610% vs median
Waste & Recycling5.5% of net spend · cohort median 6%
36 of 61-4% vs median
Housing & Homelessness3.5% of net spend · cohort median 2%
9 of 61+82% vs median
Corporate & Central2.7% of net spend · cohort median 3%
37 of 61-6% vs median
Public Health2.5% of net spend · cohort median 4%
51 of 61-31% vs median
Culture & Leisure1.6% of net spend · cohort median 2%
45 of 61-25% vs median
Highways & Transport1.4% of net spend · cohort median 3%
51 of 61-47% vs median
Planning & Economic Development1.2% of net spend · cohort median 1%
37 of 61-12% 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.20,527 payments · £149.6m gross · 3 Dec 202527 Feb 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 LIMITED£12.43m8.3%107
SUEZ RECYCING AND RECOVERY UK LTD£7.89m5.3%3
THAMES VALLEY POLICE£7.25m4.8%26
RINGWAY INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES LTD£6.95m4.6%2
ACCESS UK LIMITED T/A ADAM£6.55m4.4%90
REDACTED PERSONAL DATA£6.46m4.3%3,908
JOHN GRAHAM CONSTRUCTION LTD T/A GRAHAM CONSTRUCTION£5.91m3.9%4
THALIA MK SPV LTD£5.48m3.7%19
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE & MILTON KEYNES FIRE AUTHORITY (BMKFA)£2.69m1.8%3
ARTHUR J GALLAGHER INSURANCE BROKERS LTD£2.51m1.7%11

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Housing And HomelessnessMEARS LIMITED£12.43m
Waste And RecyclingSUEZ RECYCING AND RECOVERY UK LTD£7.89m
Adult Social CareREDACTED PERSONAL DATA£3.85m
Childrens ServicesACCESS UK LIMITED T/A ADAM£3.19m
Corporate And CentralARTHUR J GALLAGHER INSURANCE BROKERS LTD£2.51m
Public HealthBEDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL£1.87m
Planning And EconomicSMART CITY CONSULTANCY£0.32m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.19 wards split across 3 parliamentary seats
ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Milton Keynes Central842% Emily DarlingtonLab
Milton Keynes North737% Chris CurtisLab
Buckingham and Bletchley421% Callum AndersonLab
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
20,527 payments · 3 Dec 202527 Feb 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level