It was an historic local election day in East Sussex which saw a massive rise in popularity for Reform UK and the collapse of the Conservative Party in the county.
And it was a result that was reflected in the Crowborough vote too – both of the Conservative Crowborough seats were won by Reform.
After 25 years of being the dominant political party in the county, the Conservatives went into the vote on 7 May holding 22 seats of the 50 on the county council. By the end of counting the following day, they would have only three.
Conversely Reform UK, which had only two seats ahead of polling day, claimed 22. There was also good news for the LibDems, who increased their seats from 11 to 13, and the Green Party which now has 11 seats, up from the six it previously held.
It was bad day for Labour who went into the election holding five seats, and at the end of counting had not secured a single seat.
The vote means no one party achieved the 26 seats needed to control East Sussex County Council and all its committees. The Conservatives had been running the authority as a minority administration in recent years.
It will now be down to negotiations between the various parties to decide whether Reform can take charge at ESCC. If they do, they take on a council which has a budget deficit of more than £50million and was only able to set a budget for 2026/27 with the agreement of a multi-million pound bail out loan from the Government.
The local results in full:
Crowborough North and Jarvis Brook (Reform win)
Catherine Fielding – Reform – 1,804 (elected)
Nigel Fox – Green – 427
Bev Johnstone – Liberal Democrat – 1,414
Elizabeth Towey – Conservative – 1,120
Crowborough South and St John’s (Reform win)
Alison Arthur – Liberal Democrat – 1,166
Martyn Everitt – Green – 376
Sarah Jury – Reform – 1,742 (elected)
Neil Waller – Independent – 282
Andrew Wilson – Conservative – 1,233
Neighbouring divisions
Forest Row and Groombridge (Green win)
Edward Butler – Conservative – 1,163
Julia Chowaniec – Liberal Democrat – 278
Andrew Joad – Reform – 1,091
Georgia Taylor – Green – 1,863 (elected)
Heathfield and Mayfield (Reform win)
Anne Blake-Coggins – Liberal Democrat – 403
Teresa Blaxland – Conservative – 1,288
Jessika Hulbert – Green – 1,222
Steve Taylor – Labour Party – 177
Andy Woolley – Reform – 1,480 (elected)
Maresfield and Buxted (Green win)
Christina Coleman – Green – 1,754 (elected)
Roy Galley – Conservative – 1,752
Gary Johnson – Reform – 1,371
Tim Murray – Liberal Democrat – 380
Wealden East (Reform win)
Bob Bowdler – Conservative – 1,378
Laurence Keeley – Independent – 129
Tracey Lovewell – Liberal Democrat – 452
Velvet Mason – Green – 1,072
Stephen Potts – Reform – 1,925 (elected)
Barry Simons – Labour – 171
Wealden North East (Conservative win)
Michael Barrett – Reform – 1,037
Serena Gadd – Independent – 321
Michael Lunn – Conservative – 1,457 (elected)
Ben Sherlock – Green – 652
Barbara Taylor – Liberal Democrat – 451
James Walker – Labour – 259