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

Southwark.

Labour Party-controlled london_borough. £439m net revenue. 23 wards across 5 parliamentary constituencies.

Typelondon_borough
Seats64 councillors · 23 wards
Last election7 May 2026
Websitesouthwark.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£439m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£1,878
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
30/64
Labour Party 47%
Westminster
5
constituencies overlap · 1 MP party
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, Labour Party MPs.

Southwark is a london_borough controlled by Labour Party (30 of 64 seats). Net revenue is £439m for 2025-26. It covers 23 wards spanning 5 parliamentary constituencies.

§ 01Composition.64 seats · last contested 7 May 2026

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 30Green 22LD 12

Labour Party 47% · last contested 7 May 2026

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
David WatsonLDBorough Bankside2026
Hellen BenavidesLDBorough Bankside2026
Victor Max Mark ChamberlainLDBorough Bankside2026
Dora Dixon-FyleLabCamberwell Green2026
James MoyseLabCamberwell Green2026
Jen ThorntonLabCamberwell Green2026
Bill WilliamsLabChampion Hill2026
Sarah KingLabChampion Hill2026
Felix George HamerGrnChaucer2026
Pascale MitchellGrnChaucer2026
Suzanne Elizabeth WiseGrnChaucer2026
Janice Gail WhiteGrnDulwich Hill2026
Showing 12 of 64·All 64 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

36%
Council tax
£157.8m · median 47%
44%
Central grants
£193.7m · median 38%
20%
Business rates
£87.1m · median 16%

This is a grant-heavy councils (london_borough): 36% from council tax vs the cohort median of 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£1,388
County / upper-tier£490
Police£0
Fire & rescue£0
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£1,878

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 Southwark 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.

Education32.1% of net spend · cohort median 42%
29 of 33-23% vs median
Adult Social Care20.4% of net spend · cohort median 22%
24 of 33-5% vs median
Children's Services14.2% of net spend · cohort median 13%
9 of 33+9% vs median
Corporate & Central10.2% of net spend · cohort median 3%
4 of 33+204% vs median
Housing & Homelessness6.7% of net spend · cohort median 6%
15 of 33+17% vs median
Waste & Recycling6.4% of net spend · cohort median 4%
7 of 33+51% vs median
Public Health3.8% of net spend · cohort median 3%
16 of 33+9% vs median
Culture & Leisure3.3% of net spend · cohort median 2%
5 of 33+88% vs median
Planning & Economic Development2.3% of net spend · cohort median 1%
4 of 33+129% vs median
Highways & Transport0.6% of net spend · cohort median 1%
18 of 33-5% 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.21,349 payments · £246.0m gross · 1 Feb 202631 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£33.15m13.5%10
HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS£13.82m5.6%6
MATRIX SCM LIMITED£9.57m3.9%44
KENT COUNTY COUNCIL - LASER£6.32m2.6%304
VEOLIA ES SOUTHWARK LTD£5.94m2.4%11
REDACTED PERSONAL DATA£4.81m2.0%3,739
TEACHERS' PENSIONS£3.60m1.5%3
ALLPAY LTD (0-25)£3.50m1.4%1
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH£3.44m1.4%13
ATALIAN SERVEST LTD£3.22m1.3%23

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Corporate And CentralHM REVENUE & CUSTOMS£13.82m
Housing And HomelessnessKENT COUNTY COUNCIL - LASER£5.51m
Waste And RecyclingVEOLIA ES SOUTHWARK LTD£5.46m
Adult Social CareTEACHERS' PENSIONS£3.60m
Public HealthALEXANDRA ROSE CHARITY£0.08m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.23 wards split across 5 parliamentary seats
ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Bermondsey and Old Southwark835% Neil CoyleLab
Peckham730% Miatta FahnbullehInd
Dulwich and West Norwood313% Helen HayesLab
Lewisham West and East Dulwich313% Ellie ReevesLab
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green29% Florence EshalomiInd
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
21,349 payments · 1 Feb 202631 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level