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Newbury is the administrative centre of the district administered by the unitary authority of West Berkshire, which as of 2011 has a population of 153,822. Newbury is also a civil parish, with parish council responsibilities undertaken by Newbury Town Council, based at Newbury Town Hall, since 1997. Newbury Town Council currently has 23 councillors, representing seven wards of the town, currently: Brummel Grove, Clay Hill, Falkland, Northcroft, Pyle Hill, Victoria and St Johns. As of 2019, 19 of the councillors represent the Liberal Democrats, 2 represent the Conservative Party and 2 represent the Greens.
In the House of Commons, the town is in the Newbury constituency. Since the general election of December 2019 this constituency has been represented by Laura Farris, a Conservative. From 1999 to 2020 Newbury was part of the South East England European Parliament constituency electing MEPs by proportional representation. The twinning was held at The Corn Exchange Newbury. Newbury is twinned with the following:
The Civil Parish of Newbury consists of the town and the suburbs of Wash Common, The City, West Fields, East Fields and Speenhamland. The modern conurbation of Newbury, however, with close bus and road links and almost contiguous development, may be taken to include the surrounding villages of Speen, Donnington, Shaw and Greenham. Speen, which is now a suburb of western Newbury, is roughly equidistant between Bristol and London.
Elevations vary from a minimum of 72 m above mean sea level to 122 m at Wash Common. Elevations reach 150–200 m in the directly adjoining hills. The River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal flow east through the centre of the town to reach the Thames at Reading, while the River Lambourn partly forms its northern boundary, ending in the town. A tributary that is smaller still, the River Enborne, forms the southern boundary.