Who Represents You in Durham: Your MP, Councillors and Council

Knowing who represents you is the first step to getting anything changed locally, whether that is a pothole, a planning application next door, or a school place. Durham can be a little confusing because more than one tier of local government covers the city, plus a Member of Parliament at Westminster. This guide sets out who does what, and how to reach them. It is strictly non-partisan: our aim is to help you navigate the system, not to tell you how to vote.

Durham County Council: the unitary authority

County Durham is run by a single unitary authority, Durham County Council. "Unitary" means one council handles the full range of local services rather than splitting them between a county and district. In practice, Durham County Council is responsible for the day-to-day services most people rely on: household bins and recycling, schools and education, highways and road maintenance, planning and development control, adult and children's social care, libraries, and it sets and collects your council tax.

The council is run by elected councillors who make decisions collectively, supported by professional officers who deliver services. Full council meetings, cabinet meetings and committee meetings are generally open to the public, and agendas, papers and webcasts are published in advance on the council website. If you want to understand a decision, or see one being made, the meetings calendar is the place to start.

The City of Durham Parish Council

Sitting beneath the county council is a more local tier. The city itself has a City of Durham Parish Council, the most local level of government, elected by residents within the parish boundary. Parish (or town) councils in England handle very local matters and act as a consultee and a voice for their community. They are often consulted on planning applications and local issues, and they can fund and support community projects, but they do not run the big statutory services, that is the county council's job.

Durham also has a historic ceremonial layer. The Charter Trustees of the City of Durham preserve the city's charter traditions, including the office of the Mayor of the City of Durham, a civic and ceremonial role rather than an executive one. It is worth knowing these tiers are separate: the county council delivers services, the parish council gives the neighbourhood a formal voice, and the charter and mayoralty are ceremonial.

Your Member of Parliament

At Westminster, the city falls within the City of Durham parliamentary constituency. Following the 2024 general election, the sitting MP is Mary Kelly Foy of the Labour Party, who has represented the constituency since 2019 and held the seat in 2024. An MP's job is national: debating and voting on legislation, scrutinising the government, and taking up individual constituents' cases, for example with government departments or agencies. If your issue is a local service like bins or planning, your councillor is usually the right first contact; if it concerns national policy or a government body, your MP is the one to approach.

Constituency boundaries were redrawn for the 2024 election, so if you are unsure whether you fall within City of Durham, you can confirm your MP by postcode using Parliament's Find your MP tool.

Your local councillors

For the county council, the area is divided into electoral divisions, and each division elects one or more councillors to represent it. Because divisions are drawn around neighbourhoods rather than the city as a whole, the councillor for your street may differ from a neighbour's a mile away. Rather than name individuals here, who can change at elections and by-elections, it is best to look yours up directly.

Durham County Council provides a find my councillor tool: enter your postcode and it returns your division and the councillor or councillors who represent it, along with their contact details and surgery information. You can find it via the councillors section of durham.gov.uk. Councillors are your first port of call for local council services and for raising ward-level concerns.

Having your say

You do not have to wait for an election to be heard. A few practical routes:

Register to vote. You must be on the electoral register to vote in local and general elections, and you now need photo ID to vote in person at a polling station. Register online at gov.uk/register-to-vote; it takes a few minutes.

Contact your representatives. Use the county council's find my councillor tool for local matters, and Find your MP for national ones. Councillors hold regular surgeries where you can raise issues in person.

Comment on planning applications. The county council's online planning register lets you search live applications by address and submit comments during the consultation window. If a development affects you, this is where your view is formally recorded.

Attend or watch council meetings. Meeting papers and webcasts are published on the council website, and many meetings allow public questions or deputations by prior arrangement.

Local democracy works best when residents engage with it. Bookmark the council's website, find out who your councillors and MP are, and make sure you are registered to vote so your voice counts when it matters.

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