There are four layers of governance which cover Mickleton. At The national level the village is in the parliamentary constituency of The Cotswolds. The member of parliament for the constituency represents the constituents in the House of Commons of the UK parliament. At the local level, Mickleton is administered by three levels of council: 1. County, 2. District, and 3. Parish. The functions and responsibilities of each level of local Government are governed by Acts of Parliament.
At the county level, Mickleton is in the Cotswolds: Campden-Vale electoral division of Gloucestershire County Council. There is one elected councillor for the division. At the District level, Mickleton is in the Campden and Vale Ward of Cotswold District Council. There are two elected councillors for this ward. Mickleton Parish Council is the lowest tier of the local government system. That being said it is perhaps the most readily visible locally in terms of its workings. There are eleven elected councillors including a chair, vice chair and treasurer. The work of the council is supported by a Clerk to the Council.
The forerunner of a Parish Council was the Vestry. A Vestry was a meeting of parish ratepayers; an unelected body. A Vestry was originally held in the parish church or its vestry, from which it got its name. In England, until the latter half of the 19th century, the parish vestry committee was responsible for parochial church matters as well as secular parish business, and other activities, such as administering locally the poor law. The Vestry, were in effect the rulers of rural England at the time. The secular duties of the Vestry were subsequently passed to the various levels of local government including Parish Councils, which are elected bodies. The ecclesiastical duties of the Parish are now administered by the local Parochial Church Council, which in effect is the executive committee of a Parish of the Church of England.
The powers of the Parish Council are limited but fall into three main categories: (1) representing the local community, such as acting in a consultative manner and as a contact point with District and County Councils, for example in planning matters and road safety measures, (2) delivering services to meet local needs, for example services relating to grass cutting of common areas, litter bins and burial grounds, and (3) improving quality of life and community well being, for example in Mickleton maintaining the Junior Playing Field situated on Back Lane and the Plantation.