Crowborough voters are being reminded they will need a valid photo ID when they go to vote at the local elections this month.
All 50 seats on East Sussex County Council (ESCC) are up for re-election when the polls open on 7 May. And whatever the outcome Crowborough will have two new county councillors following the vote.
Currently ESCC is under no overall control, with a Conservative minority administration holding 22 of the 50 seats. The remaining seats are: 11 Liberal Democrats, six Green, five Labour, two Independent Democrats, two Reform UK, and two Independents.
Crowborough has two seats on the council – Crowborough North and Jarvis Brook, and Crowborough South and St Johns.
The current councillor for Crowborough North and Jarvis Brook is Conservative, Cllr Johanna Howell, while Cllr Philip Lunn, also Conservative, is the current councillor for Crowborough South and St Johns. Neither is standing for re-election.
Neighbouring seats around the town include: Forest Row and Groombridge; Heathfield and Mayfield; Maresfield and Buxted.
The nominated candidates for election on 7 May for Crowborough North and Jarvis Brook are (in alphabetical order):
- Catherine Fielding (Reform UK)
- Nigel Fox (Green Party)
- Bev Johnstone (Liberal Democrats)
- Jeannette Towey (The Conservative Party)
The nominated candidates for election on 7 May for Crowborough South and St Johns are (in alphabetical order):
- Alison Arthur (Liberal Democrats)
- Martyn Everitt (Green Party)
- Sarah Jury (Reform UK)
- Neil Waller (Independent)
- Andrew Wilson (The Conservative Party)
Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm. Your poll card details which polling station you need to use, but election officials have repeated their reminder that anyone wanting to vote now also needs a valid photo identification. More than 20 forms of ID, external are accepted, including:
- passports
- driving licences
- older or Disabled Person’s bus passes
- Oyster 60+ cards
- Armed Forces Veteran Cards
You can use out-of-date photo ID as long as you look the same.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: “If you wear a face covering, such as a medical mask or a veil worn on religious grounds, you will be asked to remove it briefly so polling station staff can check that your ID looks like you. If you go to the polling station without the correct ID, you will be asked to come back with valid documentation.”
The Electoral Commission said 0.4% of those who tried to vote at a polling station in the May 2025 local elections were turned away due to the voter ID requirements. Of those initially turned away, 71% returned to vote later.
In East Sussex it promises to be a busy couple of years for local government. Previously the May 2026 were cancelled to allow for the devolution and local government reorganisation processes to take place, but because of delays with those, the elections were re-instated.
Devolution – In the next couple of years Sussex is set to get a new decision-making Mayor who will take responsibility for some of the big strategic and infrastructure policies for the whole of Sussex away from the central government in Westminster.
Local Government Reorganisation – alongside devolution is a separate process looking at how councils in East Sussex are structured. We currently have a two-tier system with services such as social care, roads, and education managed by our county council, and other services such as waste collection, planning and housing provided by the small more local district council. No final decision has yet been made but it looks likely that this two-tier system will be scrapped and be replaced by a new single council, sometimes called a unitary authority.
For more information on the 7 May elections visit: https://www.wealden.gov.uk/voting-and-elections/what-happens-on-polling-day/