2023 Lewes District Council election

2023 Lewes District Council election
4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)
All 41 seats to Lewes District Council
21 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
  Blank Blank
Leader Zoe Nicholson James MacCleary
Party Green Liberal Democrats
Last election 9 seats, 27.9% 8 seats, 22.5%
Seats before 8 9
Seats won 17 15
Seat change Increase 8 Increase 7
Popular vote 19,991 17,610
Percentage 31.8% 28.0%
Swing Increase 3.9% Increase 5.5%
  Third party Fourth party
  Blank Blank
Leader Chris Collier Isabelle Linington
Party Labour Conservative
Last election 3 seats, 10.5% 19 seats, 27.1%
Seats before 4 18
Seats won 9 0
Seat change Increase 6 Decrease 19
Popular vote 10,522 13,893
Percentage 16.7% 22.1%
Swing Increase 6.2% Decrease 5.0%
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Lewes District Council election
Leader before election

James MacCleary
Liberal Democrats
No overall control

 Leader after election

Zoe Nicholson
Green
No overall control

The 2023 Lewes District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Lewes District Council in East Sussex, England.[1] This was on the same day as other local elections in England.

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a "co-operative alliance" comprising the Liberal Democrat, Green and Labour groups and one independent councillor, with the Liberal Democrat and Green leaders taking turns to be leader of the council in alternate years. The Conservatives, with 18 councillors, were the largest individual party and formed the council's opposition.[2]

The election saw the Conservatives lose all their seats. The Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour all made significant gains, with the Greens becoming the largest party. Following the election the Greens and Labour formed an alliance to run the council, with the Liberal Democrats taking the scrutiny roles as the opposition.[3][4]

Summary

Election result

2023 Lewes District Council election
Party Candidates Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Green 41 17 9 1 Increase 8 41.5 31.8 19,991 +3.9
  Liberal Democrats 41 15 7 0 Increase 7 36.6 28.0 17,610 +5.5
  Labour 20 9 6 0 Increase 6 22.0 16.7 10,522 +6.2
  Conservative 35 0 0 19 Decrease 19 0.0 22.1 13,893 –5.0
  Independent 5 0 0 2 Decrease 2 0.0 1.2 776 –8.9
  Reform 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.2 129 N/A

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Lewes District Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.[5] The results for each ward were:[6]

Chailey, Barcombe & Hamsey

Chailey, Barcombe & Hamsey (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Joa Saunders 990 53.7 +30.7
Green Mark Slater 914 49.6 +27.7
Conservative Sharon Davy* 686 37.2 –8.0
Conservative Isabelle Linington* 640 34.7 –6.2
Liberal Democrats Marion Hughes 247 13.4 –11.5
Liberal Democrats Peter Spain 212 11.5 –10.3
Turnout
Rejected ballots 8
Green gain from Conservative
Green gain from Conservative

Ditchling & Westmeston

Ditchling & Westmeston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Paul Mellor 377 34.3 –5.8
Green Edward Elford 365 33.2 +20.8
Conservative Alan Jones 356 32.4 –15.3
Majority 12 1.1 N/A
Turnout 1,098
Rejected ballots 4 0.4
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing Decrease13.3

East Saltdean & Telscombe Cliffs

East Saltdean & Telscombe Cliffs (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Christine Robinson* 1,132 69.9 +32.5
Labour Laurence O'Connor* 1,089 67.3 +33.0
Labour Ian Alexander 1,087 67.2 N/A
Conservative Paul Clark 538 33.2 –2.3
Liberal Democrats Simon Ackroyd 328 20.3 +5.3
Liberal Democrats Liz Lee 180 11.1 N/A
Green Nicky Blackwell 151 9.3 –20.2
Liberal Democrats Donna Martinez-Claras 132 8.2 N/A
Green Nick Tigg 112 6.9 N/A
Green Diana Wilkins 106 6.5 N/A
Turnout
Rejected ballots 12
Labour hold
Labour hold
Labour gain from Conservative

Kingston

Kingston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Stella Spiteri 431 47.5 –4.3
Green David Hoare 326 35.9 +18.1
Conservative Rosemarie Jeffery 150 16.5 –6.8
Majority 105 11.6 –16.8
Turnout 907
Rejected ballots 7 0.8
Liberal Democrats hold Swing Decrease11.2

Lewes Bridge

Lewes Bridge (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Zoe Nicholson* 916 49.3 –0.7
Liberal Democrats Janet Baah 812 43.7 +4.2
Green Adrian Ross* 794 42.7 –0.9
Liberal Democrats Jeremy Halley 491 26.4 –6.4
Labour Matt Kent 246 13.2 +1.6
Conservative Colin French 168 9.0 +0.1
Labour Amy Wilkins 147 7.9 –1.5
Conservative Catharine Robinson 144 7.7 –0.5
Turnout
Rejected ballots 9
Green hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Green

Lewes Castle

Lewes Castle (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Wendy Maples 696 47.8 +5.4
Green Nicolas Kortalla-Bird 600 41.2 +3.5
Labour Emily Clarke 572 39.3 +14.4
Labour Stephen Catlin 356 24.5 +11.4
Liberal Democrats Kate Wood 236 16.2 –16.3
Liberal Democrats Tony Parker 229 15.7 –13.7
Conservative Diane Burman 122 8.4 +2.2
Conservative Karen French 99 6.8 +0.7
Turnout
Rejected ballots 9
Green hold
Green hold

Lewes Priory

Lewes Priory (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Imogen Makepeace* 1,727 54.7 +13.4
Green Graham Clews 1,457 46.2 +8.6
Green Paul Keene 1,420 45.0 +14.0
Liberal Democrats Kevin West 981 31.1 +14.0
Liberal Democrats Paddy Henshaw 927 29.4 +15.0
Liberal Democrats Edwina Livesey 870 27.6 +15.6
Labour Linda Drabble 550 17.4 +10.9
Labour Peter Hambly 515 16.3 +9.9
Labour Danny Sweeney 423 13.4 +7.3
Conservative Catherine Boorman 318 10.1 +6.1
Conservative Elizabeth Slater 283 9.0 +5.3
Turnout
Rejected ballots 15
Green hold
Green gain from Independent
Green hold

Newhaven North

Newhaven North (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Julie Carr* 628 58.7 +31.1
Liberal Democrats Sean Macleod 589 55.0 +30.1
Independent Steve Saunders* 348 32.5 –2.4
Conservative Susan Chowen 245 22.9 –1.0
Independent Andrew Winter 171 15.2 N/A
Green Tai Ray-Jones 96 9.0 –1.5
Green Dirk Campbell 64 6.0 –3.8
Turnout
Rejected ballots 13
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Independent

Newhaven South

Newhaven South (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Graham Amy* 766 58.3 +4.2
Liberal Democrats James MacCleary* 672 51.2 +7.3
Liberal Democrats Christoph Von Kurthy* 611 46.5 +1.2
Independent Pinky McLean-Knight 387 29.5 N/A
Conservative Bill Giles 338 25.7 +6.9
Conservative Linda Wallraven 263 20.0 +4.5
Conservative Abdul Ahmed 239 18.2 +2.9
Green Holly Atkins 216 16.5 –2.0
Independent Nick Jones 189 14.4 N/A
Green Martin Meadows 140 10.7 –7.4
Green Martin O'Brien 118 9.0 –6.1
Turnout
Rejected ballots 17
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold

Newick

Newick
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Charlotte Keenan 533 56.5 +39.1
Conservative Nate Delo 337 35.7 –21.3
Liberal Democrats Samantha Robbins 73 7.7 –12.4
Majority 194 25.8 N/A
Turnout
Rejected ballots 4
Green gain from Conservative Swing Increase30.2

Ouse Valley & Ringmer

Ouse Valley & Ringmer (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Johnny Denis* 1,263 57.1 –6.2
Green Emily O'Brien* 1,213 54.8 +5.1
Green Lucy Agace 1,042 47.1 +2.3
Conservative Richard Turner 697 31.5 +8.8
Conservative Matthew Crisp 659 29.8 +7.1
Conservative Katie Sanderson 595 26.9 +5.1
Liberal Democrats Victoria Vincent 420 19.0 –7.2
Liberal Democrats Cathy Bryan 383 17.3 –4.7
Liberal Democrats Lindsey Macleod 367 16.6 –6.2
Turnout
Rejected ballots 8
Green hold
Green hold
Green hold

Peacehaven East

Peacehaven East (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Davies 620 58.4 +21.3
Labour Cathy Gallagher 537 50.6 +18.0
Conservative Nigel Enever 399 37.6 –4.5
Conservative Tara Moore 324 30.5 –4.2
Liberal Democrats Emily Kramers 73 6.9 N/A
Green Lesley Orr 65 6.1 –12.3
Liberal Democrats Helena Pickup 61 5.7 N/A
Green Anthony Shuster 43 4.1 –12.1
Turnout
Rejected ballots 4
Labour gain from Conservative
Labour hold

Peacehaven North

Peacehaven North (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ciarron Clarkson* 555 52.0 +24.1
Labour Isobel Sharkey 553 51.8 N/A
Conservative Keira O'Neill* 409 38.3 –6.6
Conservative Andy Smith 389 36.4 –9.1
Liberal Democrats Joyce Bell 65 6.1 N/A
Green Liz Mansfield 60 5.6 –15.2
Green Rikki Begley 56 5.2 –10.6
Liberal Democrats David Stechler 49 4.6 N/A
Turnout
Rejected ballots 7
Labour gain from Conservative
Labour gain from Conservative

Peacehaven West

Peacehaven West (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Chris Collier* 689 72.6 N/A
Labour Nikki Fabry 557 58.7 N/A
Conservative Keiran Sefton 390 41.1 +6.1
Liberal Democrats Liz Webb 100 10.5 –11.8
Green Emily Slater 71 7.5 –16.1
Liberal Democrats Fawzia Whittuck 46 4.8 N/A
Green Debra Vice-Holt 44 4.6 –12.9
Turnout
Rejected ballots 1
Labour gain from Conservative
Labour gain from Conservative

Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington & St John (Without)

Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington & St John (Without)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Daniel Stewart-Roberts 601 66.6 +0.8
Conservative Tam Large 208 23.1 +0.2
Green John Oughton 93 10.3 +1.9
Majority 393 43.5 +0.6
Turnout 902
Rejected ballots 6 0.7
Liberal Democrats hold Swing Increase0.3

Seaford Central

Seaford Central (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Stephen Gauntlett* 632 50.1 +4.1
Liberal Democrats Freddie Hoareau 523 41.5 N/A
Conservative Geoff Rutland* 411 32.6 –2.2
Labour Elaine Sammarco 297 23.6 –6.1
Labour Christopher Purser 276 21.9 N/A
Green Alice McCarthy Sommerville 188 14.9 –2.6
Green Roy Francomb 185 14.7 –1.6
Turnout
Rejected ballots 13
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Seaford East

Seaford East (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Becky Francomb 774 44.8 +19.5
Green Ezra Cohen 764 44.3 +25.3
Conservative Sam Adenji* 695 40.3 –6.3
Conservative Julian Peterson* 583 33.8 –11.4
Liberal Democrats Lindsay Stirton 225 13.0 N/A
Liberal Democrats Maggie Wearmouth 215 12.5 N/A
Reform Alan Latham 129 7.5 N/A
Independent Lorraine Crawley 68 3.9 N/A
Turnout
Rejected ballots 7
Green gain from Conservative
Green gain from Conservative

Seaford North

Seaford North (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green James Meek 584 41.9 +16.4
Green Roy Clay 566 40.6 +26.6
Conservative James Lord* 414 29.7 –12.0
Liberal Democrats Morag Everden 409 29.4 –3.7
Conservative Sylvia Lord* 409 29.4 –9.6
Liberal Democrats Sally Markwell 404 29.0 –2.5
Turnout
Rejected ballots 25
Green gain from Conservative
Green gain from Conservative

Seaford South

Seaford South (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Christine Brett* 799 55.5 +13.5
Liberal Democrats Olivia Honeyman 760 52.8 +11.3
Conservative Mark Brown 422 29.3 –13.4
Conservative Melvyn Simmons 349 24.2 –11.3
Green Miranda Suheimat 218 15.1 +2.1
Labour Co-op Alun Tlusty-Sheen 182 12.6 –2.3
Green Rachel Fryer 150 10.4 –2.1
Turnout
Rejected ballots 17
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Seaford West

Seaford West (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Christina Bristow 851 50.6 N/A
Liberal Democrats Lesley Boniface 733 43.6 N/A
Conservative Liz Boorman* 663 39.4 –15.6
Conservative Bill Payne 606 36.0 –20.4
Green Robert Burns 219 13.0 –28.5
Green Gemma McFarlane 155 9.2 –17.6
Labour Martin Waite 139 8.3 –15.3
Turnout
Rejected ballots 11
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Wivelsfield

Wivelsfield
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green William Coupland 497 52.6 +35.1
Conservative Nancy Bikson* 345 36.5 –19.9
Liberal Democrats Julie Salmon 102 10.8 –15.3
Majority 152 16.1 N/A
Turnout 944
Rejected ballots 3 0.3
Green gain from Conservative Swing Increase27.5

Changes 2023–2027

  • Imogen Makepeace, elected for the Greens, left the party to sit as an independent in April 2024.[7]
  • Ciarron Clarkson, elected for Labour, left the party to sit as an independent in June 2024.[8]

By-elections

Wivelsfield

Wivelsfield: 10 October 2024[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Sue Morris 315 42.3 Decrease10.3
Liberal Democrats Nadine Stothard 216 29.0 Increase18.2
Conservative Sarah Webster 213 28.6 Decrease7.9
Majority 99 13.3 Decrease2.8
Turnout 744 32.7
Rejected ballots 1 0.1
Green hold Swing Decrease14.3

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Green councillor William Coupland after he suffered a stroke.[10]

Newhaven North

Newhaven North by-election, 29 May 2025[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Corinna Watts 697 51.7 Increase4.1
Reform Bill Payne 389 28.9 N/A
Green David Hoare 122 9.1 Increase1.8
Conservative Richard Turner 59 4.4 Decrease14.8
Independent Steve Saunders 57 4.2 Decrease22.2
Labour Linda Drabble 23 1.7 N/A
Majority 308 22.8
Turnout 1,347 34.1
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Sean Macleod, who had first been elected to the council for Ouse Valley & Ringmer in 2019 before winning the Newhaven North seat in 2023. Macleod said he had recently been appointed to a new job that would leave him unable to give the role of councillor the attention it deserved.[12]

Newhaven South

Newhaven South by-election, 7 May 2026[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats James Harrison 1,105 52.2
Liberal Democrats Jo Pettitt 1,059 50.1
Reform Archie Wilson 550 26.0
Reform Bill Payne 474 22.4
Green Scott Burrell 261 12.3
Green Tai Ray-Jones 232 11.0
Conservative Catherine Boorman 151 7.1
Conservative Richard Turner 108 5.1
Labour Joe Moughrabi 102 4.8
Turnout 2,123 38.4
Rejected ballots 8
Registered electors 5,530
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

This double vacancy was triggered by the resignations of two of the ward's three Liberal Democrat councillors: James MacCleary, who had been elected as MP for Lewes in July 2024,[14] and Christoph von Kurthy.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Notice of Election" (PDF). Lewes District Council. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Lewes District Councillors". Lewes District Council. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Oxburgh, Huw (23 May 2023). "Greens and Labour join forces to run Lewes District Council". Sussex World. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Dale, Bob (23 May 2023). "Greens and Labour to share power on Lewes Council". BBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Lewes District Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "Election Results". Lewes District Council. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Boothroyd, David (5 April 2024). "North Northants gets the Bill". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  8. ↑ Boothroyd, David (14 June 2024). "Labour's win is Clydebuilt". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Lewes District Council. 10 October 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Wivelsfield By-election Campaign Launch". Lewes District Green Party. Retrieved 24 August 2026 – via Action Network. Our councillor, William Coupland suffered a stroke so is having to step down.
  11. ↑ "Declaration of Result of Poll" (PDF). Lewes District Council. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Newhaven district councillor to stand down after six years in his role". Sussex Express. 25 March 2025. Archived from the original on 28 March 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Election of Councillors to Lewes District Council" (PDF). Lewes District Council. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "James MacCleary". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "Lewes District Councillors". Lewes District Council. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
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