What is the name of J.K. Rowling’s fictional political institution in The Casual Vacancy?

Pagford Parish Council is the fictional political institution at the center of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy.

The novel begins after the death of Barry Fairbrother creates an unexpected vacancy on Pagford’s parish council. The resulting election brings long-standing tensions to the surface, including disputes over social services, local boundaries, and a housing estate called the Fields.

Pagford is an invented English town rather than a real municipality. The council’s role is deliberately local, allowing the novel to examine how national social issues affect personal relationships and small communities. Readers sometimes remember the title’s “vacancy” as a job vacancy, but it specifically refers to the vacant seat on the parish council.