Tunbridge Wells.
Liberal Democrats-controlled district. £15m net revenue. 14 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.
31 May 2026
Liberal Democrats chamber, 2-party MP geography.
Tunbridge Wells is a district controlled by Liberal Democrats (18 of 31 seats). Net revenue is £15m for 2025-26. It covers 14 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.
Who sits in the chamber.
Liberal Democrats 58% · last contested 7 May 2026
Councillors — the people.
| Councillor | Ward | Elected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Ellison | Con | Cranbrook Sissinghurst Frittenden | 2026 |
| Andy Fairweather | Con | Cranbrook Sissinghurst Frittenden | 2024 |
| Nancy Warne | Ind | Cranbrook Sissinghurst Frittenden | 2024 |
| David Osborne | LD | Culverden | 2026 |
| Ellen Neville | Ind | Hawkhurst Sandhurst Benenden | 2026 |
| Beverley Sara Palmer | Con | Hawkhurst Sandhurst Benenden | 2024 |
| Tom Dawlings | Con | Hawkhurst Sandhurst Benenden | 2024 |
| Dianne Hill | Lab | High Brooms | 2024 |
| Christopher Digby | LD | Paddock Wood | 2026 |
| Don Kent | LD | Paddock Wood | 2024 |
| Mark Gavin Munday | LD | Paddock Wood | 2024 |
| Pamela Jean Wilkinson | LD | Pantiles | 2026 |
Where revenue comes from.
This is a high-council-tax councils (district): 68% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (61%).
Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)
Band-D bill.
| Council slice | £211 |
| County / upper-tier | £1,691 |
| Police | £270 |
| Fire & rescue | £95 |
| GLA precept | £0 |
| Parish average | £80 |
| Total Band-D | £2,347 |
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 Tunbridge Wells split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (district)-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.
Tunbridge Wells’s territory crosses 2 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.
| Constituency | Wards | % of council | Current MP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tunbridge Wells | 12 | 86% | Mike Martin | LD |
| Weald of Kent | 2 | 14% | Katie Lam | Con |
This council holds 1 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Liberal Democrats-controlled district — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.
Sources, methods & last update
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
vs 163 other councils (district)
Police, Fire, Parish on top
Not yet ingested for Tunbridge Wells
2023 boundaries
Pending ingest at LAD level