2024 Hastings Borough Council election

2024 Hastings Borough Council election

←  2022 2 May 2024 (2024-05-02) 2026 →
16 out of 32 seats to Hastings Borough Council 17 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Julia Hilton Heather Bishop [1] N/A [a] Party Green Labour Independent Last election 5 seats, 23.5% 15 seats, 42.1% 0 seats, 0.0% Seats before 4 6 11 Seats won 9 5 0 Seats after 12 8 7 Seat change 8 2 4 Popular vote 9,013 7,724 1,765 Percentage 37.7% 32.4% 7.4% Swing 14.2% 9.7% N/A   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Andy Patmore [2] Party Conservative Reform UK Last election 12 seats, 29.6% 0 seats, 0.0% Seats before 10 1 Seats won 2 0 Seats after 5 0 Seat change 5 1 Popular vote 4,550 345 Percentage 19.1% 1.4% Swing 10.5% N/A
Winner of each seat at the 2024 Hastings Borough Council election
Leader before election Julia Hilton Green No overall control Leader after election Julia Hilton Green No overall control

The 2024 Hastings Borough Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom being held on the same day. Half of the 32 members of Hastings Borough Council in East Sussex were elected. The council remained under no overall control, but the Green Party made significant gains in their number of seats, becoming the largest party on the council. The Conservatives performed poorly, losing a third of their 2023 share of the vote and half their seats. Reform UK also lost their only seat, which they had gained in May 2023 following a Conservative Councillor switching parties. ^[3] The Labour group leader, Heather Bishop, lost her seat. ^[4]

Prior to the election, the council was being run by a minority coalition of the Green Party and the subset of the independent councillors known as the 'Hastings Independent Group'. ^[5] Following the election a Green minority administration formed instead. ^[6]

Background

Hastings historically been controlled by all 3 major parties. The Conservatives first won a majority in 1976, but lost the council to no overall control in 1980. ^[7] The Liberal Democrats won control in 1996, with the Conservatives having lost all their seats on the council the previous year. ^[7] The Labour Party won control of the council 2 years later, and held a majority until 2002, with the Conservatives retaking the council in 2006. Labour gained the council in 2010, ^[8] and controlled the council until 2022. ^[9]

In 2022, Labour won 9 seats (down 3) with 42.1% of the vote, the Conservatives won 4 with 29.6%, and the Green Party won 3 (up 3) with 23.5%. Following this election, Labour formed a majority coalition with the Green Party, but later formed a minority administration after the Greens withdrew from the coalition. ^[10] Labour lost their position as the largest group on the council in December 2023, after the resignation of 8 councillors from Labour and the suspension of another. ^{[11] [12]} A minority coalition of the Green Party and the 8 who left Labour was then formed, with a Green Party leader. ^[11]

The seats up for election in 2024 were last contested in 2021; because of the delay of all local elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seats are up for election after 3 years rather than the usual 4. In that election, the Conservatives won 8 seats (up 4) with 40.7% of the vote, Labour won 7 (down 5) with 37.6%, and the Green Party won 1 (up 1) with 16.3%

Previous council composition

After 2022 election			Before 2024 election [13]			After 2024 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Independent	0		Independent	11		Independent	7
	Conservative	12		Conservative	10		Conservative	5
	Labour	15		Labour	6		Labour	8
	Green	5		Green	4		Green	12
	Reform UK	0		Reform UK	1		Reform UK	0

Changes:

• April 2023: Lucian Fernando leaves Conservatives to sit as an independent ^[14]
• May 2023: Lucian Fernando (independent) joins Reform UK ^[3]
• October 2023: John Rankin leaves Conservatives to sit as an independent ^[15]
• December 2023: Paul Barnett, Andy Batsford, John Cannan, Maya Evans, Ali Roark, Nigel Sinden, Mike Turner, and Simon Willis leave Labour to sit as independents; ^{[16] [17]} Sabina Arthur suspended from Labour ^[12]
• January 2024: Claire Carr leaves Green Party to sit as an independent ^[18]

Summary

Candidates by party

Conservative Party (16/16)

Labour Party (16/16)

Green Party (16/16)

Independent (9/16)

Liberal Democrats (8/16)

Reform UK (3/16)

Election result

2024 Hastings Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Green	9	8	56.3	3	12	37.5	9,013	37.7	+14.2
	Labour	5	2	31.3	3	8	25.0	7,724	32.4	–9.7
	Independent	0	4	0.0	7	7	21.9	1,765	7.4	N/A
	Conservative	2	5	12.5	3	5	15.6	4,550	19.1	–10.5
	Liberal Democrats	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	479	2.0	–2.7
	Reform UK	0	1	0.0	0	0	0.0	345	1.4	N/A

Ward results

An asterisk (*) indicates an incumbent councillor.

Ashdown

Ashdown ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood*	470	38.5	–11.5
	Labour	Steve Thorpe	398	32.6	+4.5
	Green	Daniel Hope	167	13.7	+4.9
	Reform UK	Thee Kuga	116	9.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Milton	69	5.7	–7.6
Majority			72	5.9
Turnout			1,220
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.0

Baird

Baird ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Yunis Smith	387	29.0	+21.7
	Conservative	Liam Atkins	312	23.4	–14.1
	Labour	Liam Crowter	312	23.4	–28.5
	Independent	Peter Bailey	289	21.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Emlyn Jones	35	2.6	–0.7
Majority			75	5.6
Turnout			1,335
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	17.9

Braybrooke

Braybrooke ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Mark Etherington	1,001	56.3	+35.3
	Labour	Tim Shand	616	34.6	–18.8
	Conservative	Shelley Bland	161	9.1	–10.9
Majority			385	21.7
Turnout			1,778
	Green gain from Independent		Swing	27.1

Castle

Castle ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Becca Horn	1,108	55.7	+14.0
	Labour	James Thomas	700	35.2	–6.8
	Conservative	Rob Cooke	181	9.1	–4.3
Majority			408	20.5
Turnout			1,989
	Green gain from Independent		Swing	10.4

Central St Leonards

Central St Leonards ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Adele Bates	820	45.4	+1.8
	Labour	Josh Matthews	541	29.9	–11.7
	Independent	Steph Warren	275	15.2	N/A
	Conservative	Craig Andrew	156	8.6	–3.3
	Independent	Richard Haberkost	15	0.8	N/A
Majority			279	13.5
Turnout			1,807
	Green gain from Labour		Swing	6.8

Conquest

Conquest ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Foster*	491	37.3	–11.0
	Labour	Hugh Nicholson	386	29.3	+2.5
	Independent	Anna Winston	191	14.5	N/A
	Green	Tracey Lord	143	10.8	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Stewart Rayment	107	8.1	–9.0
Majority			105	8.0
Turnout			1,318
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.8

Gensing

Gensing ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Paula Warne	1,073	57.8	+12.5
	Labour	Edwina Hughes	602	32.4	–6.8
	Conservative	Christopher Meaden	183	9.8	–2.2
Majority			471	25.4
Turnout			1,858
	Green gain from Labour		Swing	9.7

Hollington

Hollington ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Danuta Kean	395	36.5	–24.5
	Independent	Maya Evans*	351	32.5	N/A
	Conservative	Stephen Butterton	261	24.1	–5.2
	Green	Dulcie Reynolds	74	6.8	–3.0
Majority			44	4.0
Turnout			1,081
	Labour gain from Independent

Maze Hill

Maze Hill ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Darren MacKenzie	590	37.9	+19.0
	Labour	Mike Southon	397	25.5	–0.2
	Conservative	Graeme Williams*	380	24.4	–18.7
	Reform UK	Paul Murphy	83	5.3	N/A
	Independent	Sarah Buller	68	4.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Bruce Meredeen	40	2.6	–9.7
Majority			193	12.4
Turnout			1,558
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	9.6

Old Hastings

Old Hastings ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Julia Hilton*	1,123	60.8	+24.3
	Labour	Jeremy Hicks	536	29.0	–22.0
	Conservative	Martin Clarke	189	10.2	–2.3
Majority			587	31.8
Turnout			1,848
	Green hold		Swing	23.2

Ore

Ore ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Jo Walker	763	57.7	+40.1
	Labour	Heather Bishop	327	24.7	–18.9
	Conservative	Roger Streeten	195	14.8	–24.0
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Wakeford	37	2.8	N/A
Majority			436	33.0
Turnout			1,322
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	29.5

Silverhill

Silverhill ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Billie Barnes	643	40.9	–3.6
	Conservative	Max Hewitt	393	25.0	–14.8
	Green	Lesley Arshad	336	21.3	+9.6
	Reform UK	Lucian Fernando*	146	9.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Terry Keen	56	3.6	–0.4
Majority			250	15.9
Turnout			1,574
	Labour gain from Reform UK		Swing	5.6

St Helens

St Helens ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Whitehill	503	30.9	–18.8
	Conservative	Peter Pragnell*	456	28.0	–11.4
	Independent	Jackie Patton	293	18.0	N/A
	Green	Ollie Hunter	287	17.6	+10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Lloyd	91	5.6	+1.6
Majority			47	2.9
Turnout			1,630
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	3.7

Tressell

Tressell ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Natalie Gaimster	817	65.6	+9.7
	Labour	Anna Sabin	324	26.0	–2.6
	Conservative	Sue Clarke	104	8.4	–7.0
Majority			493	39.6
Turnout			1,245
	Green gain from Independent		Swing	6.2

West St Leonards

West St Leonards ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Trevor Webb	441	38.7	+12.5
	Conservative	Karl Beaney*	402	35.3	–14.3
	Green	Marisa McGreevy-Rose	182	16.0	+1.4
	Independent	Adam Taylor-Foster	70	6.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathon Stoodley	44	3.9	–5.7
Majority			39	3.4
Turnout			1,139
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	13.4

Wishing Tree

Wishing Tree ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Helen Kay	603	51.4	–2.3
	Conservative	Rob Lee	216	18.4	–17.7
	Independent	Ian Miller	213	18.1	N/A
	Green	Mike Wharton	142	12.1	+1.9
Majority			387	33.0
Turnout			1,174
	Labour hold		Swing	7.7

References

1. Of the eleven independent councillors prior to the election, eight sat together as the 'Hastings Independent Group' led by Paul Barnett.

1. Dillon, Rick (27 February 2024). "Chaos in Hastings after surprise Labour split". Sussex Bylines. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
2. Connelley, Chris (21 January 2024). "Coalition Green / Hastings Independents Cabinet draws fire from Labour and Tories". Hastings Online Times. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
3. Oxburgh, Huw (12 May 2023). "Ex-Conservative councillor in Hastings joins Reform UK Party". Sussex World. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
4. Oxburgh, Huw (3 May 2024). "Hastings Borough Council election results 2024 - council remains in no overall control". Sussex World. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
5. Wright, Charlotte; Lee, Shola (15 December 2023). "Hastings Borough Council: Leader and five other councillors quit Labour". BBC News Online . Retrieved 12 May 2024.
6. McLaughlin, Paul (5 June 2024). "Green takeover, independents frozen out". Hastings Independent. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
7. "Hastings Borough Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Elections Centre. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
8. "Election 2010 | Hastings council". BBC News. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
9. "Sussex election results 2022: Labour wins control of Worthing for first time". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
10. Oxburgh, Huw (21 October 2022). "Labour has new cabinet at Hastings Borough Council after split with Greens". Sussex World. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
11. Connelley, Chris (21 January 2024). "Coalition Cabinet draws fire from Labour and Tories". Hastings Online Times. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
12. Sullivan, Hugh; McLaughlin, Paul (17 January 2024). "BARNETT'S BLUE MONDAY TURNS GREEN". Hastings Independent Press. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
13. "My Councillors by Party". Hastings Borough Council. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
14. Boothroyd, David. "Happy new local government year". LocalCouncils.co.uk.
15. McLaughlin, Paul (4 October 2023). "Tory Councillor Jumps Ship". Hastings Independent Press. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
16. Connelley, Chris (17 December 2023). "Labour Cabinet defections rock HBC – more likely to follow". hastingsonlinetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
17. Oxburgh, Huw (18 December 2023). "Eighth councillor resigns from Hastings Labour group". Sussex World. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
18. "Controversy over Council Cabinet – Carr Quits". Hastings Independent Press. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
19. "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Hastings Borough Council. Retrieved 9 April 2024.