Governance alt=Street scene with cars on a road with buildings on either side.|thumb|right|The High Street shops Shepton Mallet is in the unitary authority area of Somerset Council. Prior to April 2023, it was the principal town in the Mendip local government district, which governed together with Somerset County Council. In the 80 years up to 1974, it lay in Shepton Mallet Urban District. The civil parish of Shepton Mallet has adopted the style of a town. It has a town council of 16 members, split equally between the two wards: Shepton East and Shepton West. The most recent elections, in May 2015, left the council made up of five Conservatives, five Liberal Democrats, three Labour Party members and three independents.
Governance alt=Street scene with cars on a road with buildings on either side.|thumb|right|The High Street shops Shepton Mallet is in the unitary authority area of Somerset Council Prior to April 2023, it was the principal town in the Mendip local government district, which governed together with Somerset County Council. In the 80 years up to 1974, it lay in Shepton Mallet Urban District. The civil parish of Shepton Mallet has adopted the style of a town. It has a town council of 16 members, split equally between the two wards: Shepton East and Shepton West. The most recent elections, in May 2015, left the council made up of five Conservatives, five Liberal Democrats, three Labour Party members and three independents.