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Unitary authority · E06000050

Cheshire West and Chester

Outstanding borrowing is the MHCLG live-table stock, not a press figure. Crime is police-recorded and mapped from Community Safety Partnership areas. Political control is the 2026 Open Council Data composition snapshot.

LAB min
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Total outstanding borrowing

£232.8m

£232,787,000

Debt per resident

£623

Using mid-2025 population of 373,951

Population

373,951

ONS mid-year estimate

Recorded crime rate

66.8 per 1,000

24,822 offences, year to March 2026

Strategic mayor

This council sits inside a combined authority or the GLA. That is a different body from the council itself — borrowing and crime on this page are still the local-authority figures.

Borrowing

Cheshire West and Chester reported £232,787,000 of outstanding borrowing as at 30 June 2026. That is total outstanding borrowing (all sources, including loans from other local authorities). About £623 per resident.

Figures converted from £ thousand as published. This is a stock of outstanding borrowing, not the annual deficit.

Source: MHCLG — Borrowing and investment live table, Q1 2026 to 2027. As of 30 Jun 2026 · Q1 2026–27 (as at 30 June 2026).

Population

373,951 usual residents at mid-2025, on 2023 local authority boundaries.

Source: ONS — Estimates of the population for England and Wales, mid-2025. As of 30 Jun 2025 · Mid-2025 (2023 local authority boundaries).

Recorded crime

24,822 police-recorded offences excluding fraud, a rate of 66.8 per 1,000.

Police force / area: Cheshire.

Community Safety Partnership: Cheshire West and Chester.

Police recorded crime excluding fraud, CSP area “Cheshire West and Chester” (Cheshire Police).

Source: ONS / Home Office — Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area data tables (Tables C2 and C4). As of 31 Mar 2026 · Year ending March 2026.

Who runs the council

LAB min on a council of 70 seats.

  • Labour 35
  • Conservative 20
  • Liberal Democrats 1
  • Plaid Cymru 0
  • Green 3
  • Reform UK 3
  • Other 8

Open Council Data is a curated compilation of published council compositions, not an official government statistical release.

Source: Open Council Data UK — GB council compositions 2016–2026. As of 1 May 2026 · 2026 composition snapshot (shortly after the May local elections / by-elections).

Last local election / current composition

LAB min; 70 seats (Lab 35, Con 20, LD 1, Green 3, Reform 3, other 8)

Next scheduled local election (from the councillor file): 6 May 2027. Election calendar

Next UK general election: not yet set. National and mayoral dates: Election calendar.

Source: Open Council Data UK council compositions and councillor file, 2026. As of 1 May 2026.

2024 general election in this area

Labour won 4 of 6 overlapping constituency/constituencies. Parliamentary constituencies do not match council boundaries exactly.

  • Labour44.7% · 122,927 votes
  • Conservative26.1% · 71,745 votes
  • Reform UK15.0% · 41,139 votes
  • Liberal Democrats6.9% · 19,062 votes
  • Green5.9% · 16,339 votes

Indicative sum of votes in overlapping constituencies. Some constituencies cross local authority boundaries, so this is not a precise LA result.

6 overlapping constituencies
  • Chester North and Neston: Labour — Samantha Dixon
  • Chester South and Eddisbury: Conservative — Aphra Brandreth
  • Ellesmere Port and Bromborough: Labour — Justin Madders
  • Mid Cheshire: Labour — Andrew Cooper
  • Runcorn and Helsby: Labour — Mike Amesbury
  • Tatton: Conservative — Esther McVey

Source: House of Commons Library — General election 2024 results (CBP-10009). As of 4 Jul 2024.

Council tax (Band D)

Full rankings
Area Band D
£2,517.33
£ change
+£125.30
% change
+5.24%
Rank
82 of 296financial year 2026 to 2027

Area Band D for a two-adult Band D dwelling in this billing authority, including adult social care, parish and major precepts. Ranked 82 of 296 in England for 2026-27.

Source: MHCLG — Live tables on Council Tax: Band D Council Tax figures 1993 onwards (Area_CT / Area_CT_%). As of 22 Apr 2026 · financial year 2026 to 2027.

Explain this numberArea Band D council tax

The MHCLG area Band D figure for a two-adult Band D dwelling in this billing area — the billing authority plus adult social care, parish and major precepts (county or GLA, police, fire, combined authority).

  • Not average council tax per dwelling, and not the amount every household pays (bands A–H are fixed fractions of Band D; discounts and premiums apply).
  • Shire districts appear in the ranking because they are billing authorities. Watchtower’s primary council rows are CTYUA, so counties have no single area Band D.
  • Year-on-year % is the official live-table column. We do not invent bills.
  • Wales is a separate StatsWales / Welsh Government collection and is ranked on its own table — not mixed with MHCLG England figures.

Band D rankings

Source: MHCLG — Live tables on Council Tax: Band D Council Tax figures 1993 onwards (Area_CT / Area_CT_%). As of 22 Apr 2026 · financial year 2026 to 2027.

MPs covering this area

Parliamentary constituencies from the House of Commons Library GE 2024 results that overlap this council (ONS lookup). Sitting MPs are joined from the committed Members API snapshot — usually by constituency name. ONS constituency codes are shown for the seat; the Members API has no ONS codes, so a code-level join is not available. Name-only joins are labelled.

Source: House of Commons Library — General election 2024 results (CBP-10009). As of 4 Jul 2024.

Source: UK Parliament Members API (committed snapshot). As of 13 Sept 2026.