Hastings Borough Council remains in no overall control, after a day of significant gains for the Green Party.
After the count concluded on Friday (May 3), the Green Party was left as Hastings Borough Council’s largest political group — winning eight new seats and successfully defending another.
The authority holds elections every two years, with one out of the two seats which make up each ward up for election. This meant part of the council’s post-election political line up was already known.
The council had been in no overall control going into the election, with 10 Conservatives, four Greens, eight members of the Hastings Independent Group, six Labour councillors, one Reform UK councillor and three unaffiliated Independents.
The final count left Greens holding 12 seats, Labour with eight seats, six members of the Hastings Independent Group (HIG), five Conservatives and one Independent.
Of these, three Conservatives, three Greens, six members of the Hastings Independent Group (HIG), three Labour councillors, and one Independent represented seats which were not up for election.
The Green Party were the clear victors, winning seats in Baird, Braybrooke, Castle, Central St Leonards, Gensing, Maze Hill, Ore and Tressell, while also holding on to Cllr Julia Hilton’s seat in Old Hastings.
Conversely, it was a tough day for Conservatives, with the party only holding on to two out of the seven seats it had been defending. The party lost two seats to Labour and three to the Greens, but held on to its seats in Ashdown and Conquest.
Labour saw more bittersweet results. While the party increased its overall number of seats, it also failed to win in several wards it had won in the 2021 and 2022 elections.
While held by independents going into the election, the councillors for Braybrooke, Castle and Tressell had all been elected as Labour councillors in the 2021 election. All three seats were won by the Greens.
The final count also saw Labour group leader Heather Bishop lose her bid to win a seat in Ore. This seat had been held by Conservatives, but turned to Labour in the 2022 election. It was ultimately won by the Greens this time round. Cllr Bishop had previously represented Gensing, a seat Labour lost to the Greens.
However, Labour did succeed in winning in Hollington, preventing the Hastings Independent Group’s Maya Evans from securing re-election.
Notably, Cllr Evans had been the only member of the Hastings Independent Group — with its sitting councillors all formerly Labour candidates — seeking re-election this year.
Labour also secured three new seats, winning in Silverhill, St Helens and West Leonards, taking Silverhill from Reform councillor Lucian Fernando and preventing Conservative incumbents Peter Pragnell and Karl Beaney from winning re-election.
The results leave Hastings Borough Council in no overall control for at least the next two years. With the Greens as the largest group, Julia Hilton is likely to be council leader once again — a position she has held since the beginning of this year, following the formation of the Hastings Independent Group.
Ashdown
Daniel Hope, Green: 167
Thee Kuga, Reform UK: 116
Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood, Conservative: 470
Stephen Ludwig Milton, Liberal Democrat: 69
Steve Thorpe, Labour: 398
CON HOLD
Baird
Liam Atkins, Conservative: 312
Peter Charles Kingsley Bailey, Independent: 289
Liam Thomas David Crowter, Labour: 312
Emlyn Jones, Liberal Democrat: 35
Yunis Smith, Green: 387
GREEN GAIN, CON LOSS.
Braybrooke
Shelley Bland, Conservative: 161
Mark Richard Etherington, Green: 1,001
Tim John Cairns Shand, Labour: 616
GREEN GAIN, IND LOSS*
Incumbent was elected as a Lab councillor.
Castle
Rob Cooke, Conservative: 181
Becca Horn, Green: 1,108
James Thomas, Labour: 700
GREEN GAIN, IND LOSS*
Incumbent councillor Clare Carr had initially been elected as Labour councillor.
Central St Leonards
Craig Steven Andrew, Conservative: 156
Adele Judith Bates, Green: 820
Richard Haberkost, Unaffiliated: 50
Josh Matthews, Labour: 541
Steph Warren, Independent: 275
GREEN GAIN, LAB LOSS
Conquest
Paul Patrick James Foster, Conservative: 491
Tracey Lord, Green: 143
Hugh Philip Nicholson, Labour: 386
Stewart Gregory Rayment, Liberal Democrat: 107
Anna Mary Winston, Independent: 191
CON HOLD
Gensing
Edwina Hughes, Labour: 602
Christopher Meaden, Conservative: 183
Paula Vanessa Warne, Green: 1,073
GREEN GAIN, LAB LOSS
Hollington
Stephen Scott Butterton, Conservative: 261
Maya Anne Evans, Independent: 351
Danuta Kean, Labour: 395
Dulcie Charlotte Reynolds, Green: 74
LAB GAIN*, HIG LOSS
*Labour won the seat in 2021, with incumbent Maya Evans
Maze Hill
Sarah Amanda Chabala Buller, Independent: 68
Darren Buist Mackenzie, Green: 590
Bruce Meredeen, Liberal Democrat: 40
Paul Murphy, Reform UK: 83
Mike Southon, Labour: 397
Graeme David, Conservative: 380
GREEN GAIN, CON LOSS
Old Hastings
Martin Hugh Clarke, Conservative: 189
Jeremy Guy Hicks, Labour: 536
Julia Jayne Hilton, Green: 1,123
GREEN HOLD
Ore
Heather Alison Bishop, Labour: 327
Roger Streeten, Conservative: 195
Robert John Wakeford, Liberal Democrat: 37
Jo Walker, Green: 763
GREEN GAIN, CON LOSS
Silverhill
Lesley Ann Sammah Arshad, Green: 336
Billie Blue Ann Mary Barnes, Labour: 643
Lucian Fernando, Reform UK: 146
Max William James Hewitt, Conservative: 393
Terry Keen, Liberal Democrat: 56
LAB GAIN, REFORM LOSS
St Helens
Ollie Hunter, Green: 287
Bob Lloyd, Liberal Democrat: 91
Jackie Patton, Independent: 293
Peter William Pragnell, Conservative: 456
David Edgar Whitehill, Labour: 503
LAB GAIN, CON LOSS
Wishing Tree
Helen Louise Kay, Labour: 603
Rob Lee, Conservative: 216
Ian Peter Miller, Independent: 213
Mike Wharton, Green: 142
LAB HOLD
