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

Wiltshire.

Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled unitary. £514m net revenue. 98 wards across 6 parliamentary constituencies.

TypeUnitary
Seats98 councillors · 98 wards
Last election1 May 2025
Websitewiltshire.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£514m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,443
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
43/98
Conservative and Unionist Party 44%
Westminster
6
constituencies overlap · 3 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Conservative and Unionist Party chamber, 3-party MP geography.

Wiltshire is a unitary controlled by Conservative and Unionist Party (43 of 98 seats). Net revenue is £514m for 2025-26. It covers 98 wards spanning 6 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 3 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.98 seats · last contested 1 May 2025

Who sits in the chamber.

Con 43LD 41Ref 6Ind 5Independent Berwick Hills Resident 2Lab 1

Conservative and Unionist Party 44% · last contested 1 May 2025

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
James Henry SheppardConAldbourne Ramsbury2025
Greg CooperConAlderbury Whiteparish2025
Kevin John AsplinRefAmesbury East Bulford2025
Alan Stuart HaggerLDAmesbury South2025
Monica DevendranConAmesbury West2025
Ian Charles Duke Blair-PillingConAvon Valley2025
Nick HolderConBowerhill2025
Phil ChamberlainLDBox Colerne2025
Tim TrimbleLDBradford On Avon North2021
Sarah GibsonLDBradford On Avon South2021
Elizabeth Buff ThrelfallConBrinkworth2021
Laura MayesConBromham Rowde Roundway2021
Showing 12 of 98·All 98 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

72%
Council tax
£371.8m · median 59%
21%
Central grants
£109.8m · median 30%
6%
Business rates
£32.4m · median 11%

This is a high-council-tax unitary authoritie: 72% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (59%).

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

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,887
County / upper-tier£0
Police£283
Fire & rescue£92
GLA precept£0
Parish average£181
Total Band-D£2,443

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 Wiltshire 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.

Education42.3% of net spend · cohort median 36%
6 of 61+18% vs median
Adult Social Care26.2% of net spend · cohort median 27%
40 of 61-4% vs median
Children's Services11.3% of net spend · cohort median 15%
53 of 61-23% vs median
Waste & Recycling6.6% of net spend · cohort median 6%
18 of 61+14% vs median
Highways & Transport4.1% of net spend · cohort median 3%
13 of 61+57% vs median
Culture & Leisure2.7% of net spend · cohort median 2%
19 of 61+25% vs median
Public Health2.7% of net spend · cohort median 4%
47 of 61-28% vs median
Housing & Homelessness1.9% of net spend · cohort median 2%
31 of 610% vs median
Planning & Economic Development1.3% of net spend · cohort median 1%
35 of 61-6% vs median
Corporate & Central0.9% of net spend · cohort median 3%
56 of 61-70% 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.

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.98 wards split across 6 parliamentary seats

Wiltshire’s territory crosses 6 Westminster constituencies, with 3 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Chippenham1919% Sarah GibsonLD
Melksham and Devizes1919% Brian MathewLD
South West Wiltshire1919% Andrew MurrisonCon
Salisbury1818% John GlenCon
East Wiltshire1515% Danny KrugerRef
South Cotswolds88% Roz SavageLD
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 3 Ind, 2 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled unitary — 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 62 other unitary authorities
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
Not yet ingested for Wiltshire
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level