Lewes District Council elections
Lewes District council in East Sussex, England is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2003, 41 councillors are elected from 21 wards.
Following the election on 2 May 2019 the Council is composed as follows
| Year | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Green Party | Independent | Labour | UKIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019[1] | 19 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Political parties
From its formation, until 2013, the council comprised mainly Conservative and Liberal Democrat or Liberal councillors, with a small number of independents and some Labour councillors at different points. However, in 2013 two Conservative members of the council crossed the floor and joined UKIP, giving the party its first Lewes District councillors. This also meant that the Conservatives lost control of the council, putting it in No overall control. In 2015, neither of the previous UKIP members were re-elected; however, a new UKIP District Councillor was elected to the council, and, for the first time in its history, three Green Party councillors.
2019 saw the Conservative Party return 19 councillors, and the Green Party increase their representation to nine councillors, becoming the second largest party, ahead of the Liberal Democrats, who managed eight. The Labour Party elected three councillors, and they were joined by two Independents.
However, since then, one Green Party Councillor has left the Green Party to join the Liberal Democrats on Lewes Council, making the Liberal Democrats the second largest party.[2]
Political control
Since the first election to the council in 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[3]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Conservative | 1973–1991 |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color" | | Liberal Democrats | 1991–2011 |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Conservative | 2011–2013 |
| style="background-color: Template:No overall control/meta/color" | | No overall control | 2013–2015 |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Conservative | 2015–2018 |
| style="background-color: Template:No overall control/meta/color" | | No overall control | 2018–present |
Council elections
- 1973 Lewes District Council election
- 1976 Lewes District Council election
- 1979 Lewes District Council election
- 1983 Lewes District Council election (New ward boundaries)[4]
- 1987 Lewes District Council election
- 1991 Lewes District Council election
- 1995 Lewes District Council election (District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)[5]
- 1999 Lewes District Council election
- 2003 Lewes District Council election (New ward boundaries reduced the number of seats by 7)[6][7]
- 2007 Lewes District Council election
- 2011 Lewes District Council election
- 2015 Lewes District Council election
- 2019 Lewes District Council election (New ward boundaries)
By-election results
1999-2003
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 450 | 49.3 | +10.1 | ||
| Labour | 293 | 32.1 | +10.5 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 169 | 18.5 | -20.7 | ||
| Majority | 157 | 17.2 | |||
| Turnout | 912 | 16.3 | |||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
2003-2007
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Chistopher Bishop | 406 | 64.6 | +12.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Carla Butler | 113 | 18.0 | -12.0 | |
| Labour | John Carden | 109 | 17.4 | -0.8 | |
| Majority | 293 | 46.6 | |||
| Turnout | 628 | 18.2 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Gardiner | 715 | 43.7 | +21.6 | |
| Conservative | Paul Gander | 521 | 31.8 | +6.5 | |
| Seagulls | Edward Bassford | 359 | 21.9 | +21.9 | |
| Labour | Trevor Hopper | 41 | 2.5 | -10.7 | |
| Majority | 194 | 12.9 | |||
| Turnout | 1,636 | 33.4 | |||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Swing | ||||
2015-present
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Johnny Denis | 835 | 38.7 | +22.3 | |
| Conservative | Clare Herbert | 660 | 30.6 | +1.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | James Gardiner | 457 | 21.2 | -8.0 | |
| Labour | Tim Telford | 167 | 7.7 | -4.4 | |
| UKIP | Phil Howson | 38 | 1.8 | -11.5 | |
| Majority | 175 | 8.1 | |||
| Turnout | 2,161 | 42 | |||
| Green gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
References
- ^ "Full Results Notice (Lewes District District Council) - 2 May 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ "Council's mental health champion resigns from Lewes Green group". sussexexpress.co.uk. 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
- ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Lewes (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979. Retrieved on 19 November 2015.
- ^ legislation.gov.uk - The East Sussex, West Sussex and Kent (County Boundaries) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
- ^ "Lewes". BBC Online. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Lewes (Electoral Changes) Order 2001. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
- ^ "Lib Dem infighting sees mixed byelection results". guardian.co.uk. 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
- ^ "By-election - Lewes District Council" (PDF). Lewes District Council. Retrieved 2009-02-12. [dead link]
- ^ "Result of poll" (PDF). Lewes District Council. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
