Southend-on-Sea.
Labour Party-controlled unitary. £201m net revenue. 17 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.
31 May 2026
Labour Party chamber, Labour Party MPs.
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary controlled by Labour Party (8 of 24 seats). Net revenue is £201m for 2025-26. It covers 17 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies.
Who sits in the chamber.
Labour Party 33% · last contested 7 May 2026
Councillors — the people.
| Councillor | Ward | Elected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar James Wood | Ref | Belfairs | 2026 |
| Craig Alan Watt | Ref | Blenheim Park | 2026 |
| Kay Mitchell | Grn | Chalkwell | 2026 |
| Robert McMullan | LD | Eastwood Park | 2026 |
| Matt Dent | Lab | Kursaal | 2026 |
| Anita Maria Forde | Grn | Leigh | 2026 |
| Maxine Sadza | Lab | Milton | 2026 |
| Michael Eric Heaver | Ref | Prittlewell | 2026 |
| Alex Moyies | Ref | Shoeburyness | 2026 |
| Judith McMahon | Con | Shoeburyness | 2024 |
| Martin Bright | Con | Southchurch | 2026 |
| Frankie James Bird | Ref | St Laurence | 2026 |
Where revenue comes from.
Revenue mix is close to the unitary authorities median: 55% council tax, 34% 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 | £1,799 |
| County / upper-tier | £0 |
| Police | £260 |
| Fire & rescue | £88 |
| GLA precept | £0 |
| Parish average | £8 |
| Total Band-D | £2,155 |
Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish
Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.
How does Southend-on-Sea 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.
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.
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
| Supplier | Paid | Share | Pmts |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUEZ RECYCLING AND RECOVERY UK LTD | £12.19m | 10.0% | 77 |
| GBS RE NHS MID ESSEX CCG | £4.45m | 3.7% | 6 |
| (G) MARLBOROUGH HIGHWAYS LIMITED | £4.26m | 3.5% | 129 |
| REDACTED PERSONAL DATA | £3.69m | 3.0% | 1,939 |
| R RAPHAEL & SONS PLC - CLIENT MONIES RE ALLPAY MC COLLECTIONS - ESSEX - PARKED | £2.45m | 2.0% | 7 |
| LHCS & SOUTHEND TRAVEL PARTNERSHIP LIMITED T/A VECTEO | £2.35m | 1.9% | 2 |
| SOUTHEND CARE LTD | £2.01m | 1.7% | 48 |
| HAYS SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT LTD RECEIPTS RECRUITMENT FILE ONLY | £1.98m | 1.6% | 1,265 |
| ASHLEY COMMUNITY CARE SERVICES LTD T/A ASHLEY CARE | £1.73m | 1.4% | 138 |
| THE ST. CHRISTOPHER SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST | £1.69m | 1.4% | 17 |
By service area · top supplier
| Service | Top supplier | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Waste And Recycling | SUEZ RECYCLING AND RECOVERY UK LTD | £6.97m |
| Childrens Services | LHCS & SOUTHEND TRAVEL PARTNERSHIP LIMITED T/A VECTEO | £2.35m |
| Adult Social Care | GBS RE NHS MID ESSEX CCG | £2.22m |
| Corporate And Central | R RAPHAEL & SONS PLC - CLIENT MONIES RE ALLPAY MC COLLECTIONS - ESSEX - PARKED | £1.95m |
| Constituency | Wards | % of council | Current MP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southend West and Leigh | 10 | 59% | David Burton-Sampson | Lab |
| Southend East and Rochford | 7 | 41% | Bayo Alaba | Lab |
Sources, methods & last update
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
vs 62 other unitary authorities
Police, Fire, Parish on top
11,834 payments · 3 Dec 2025 – 30 Mar 2026
2023 boundaries
Pending ingest at LAD level