The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency, with the incumbent MP being the Conservative Stephen Barclay. The constituency is now considered a safe Conservative seat, although the Liberal MP Clement Freud held the seat from its creation in 1983 to 1987 and the former Isle of Ely seat from 1973 to 1984. The town is locally governed by Cambridgeshire County Council, Fenland District Council and Chatteris Town Council, each performing separate functions. Chatteris Town Council consists of the following electoral wards: Birch; Slade Lode; The Mills and Wenneye.