Voters will head to the polls next week for the local elections.

With a general election likely to take place this year, what happens in May could be a sign of what is to come with several battlegrounds drawn out in Sussex.

According to a recent nationwide poll of 18,000 people by Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus Labour are forecast to win several traditionally Conservative-held areas at the next general, including areas where local elections are taking place next month including Crawley, Worthing and Hastings.

People can vote in person on May 2 from 7am until 10pm and votes will be counted on May 3.

Elections will take place in Adur, Worthing, Crawley and Brighton Kemptown and Queen’s Park.

People across Sussex will also be choosing the Sussex Police Crime Commissioner. 

Worthing

Thirteen of Worthing Borough Council’s 37 seats are being contested on May 2, these are Broadwater, Castle, Central, Durrington, Gaisford, Goring, Heene, Marine, Offington, Salvington, Selden, Tarring and Northbrook.

Labour taking overall control of the council from the minority Conservatives sent shockwaves through the political sphere in 2022.

The party currently holds 24 seats, while the Conservatives hold 11, the Greens one and Liberal Democrats one.

Worthing's seats are important in the race for Number 10.

The Conservatives are expected to lose their hold on the town as a red tide threatens the bastions of the so-called “blue wall”.

Sir Peter Bottomley, father of the House of Commons and Conservative MP for Worthing West, confirmed last year that he will fight for re-election for the sixth time.

Earlier this month, fellow Tory Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham said he will not stand.

Adur

Some fifteen seats of Adur District Council’s 29 seats are up for grabs.

The Conservatives go into the elections with control of the council holding 16 seats while Labour has nine and the Greens and Shoreham Beach Residents' Association have two each.

A by-election in St Mary's ward, Shoreham, is also taking place after Cat Arnold stepped down in March.

Hastings

In Hastings, half of the council’s 32 seats are up for re-election after a year of political turmoil and financial uncertainty.

The council was previously run by Labour but eight councillors, including the council leader and deputy, resigned from the party to form the Hastings Independents.

They formed Hastings Independents and now run the council with the Greens, whose leader Julia Hilton heads the council.

Read more: Council could be bankrupt in months - urgent action needed

Labour has been left with six seats, while the Conservatives are he group with the most seats at ten. Three more independents, four Greens and a reform UK councillor make up the rest of the council heading into the election.

Brighton

Two by-elections are taking place in Kemptown and Queen’s Park following the resignations of Chandni Mistry and Bharti Gajjar.

Read more: Candidates confirmed for battle in upcoming by-elections

Crawley

In Crawley, residents will be choosing their councillors for 12 seats on Crawley Borough Council.

The council is currently run by Labour, who hold 20 of the 36 seats.

The Conservatives hold the remaining 16.

In a general election, Crawley is seen as a key seat.

Current Conservative MP Henry Smith will not stand at the next general election.

Sussex Police Crime Commissioner election

The Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) is responsible for the force's budget and setting the strategic objectives for policing in Sussex.

The current PCC is Katy Bourne, from the Conservative Party.

The candidates are Jamie Bennett (Liberal Democrat), Katy Bourne, (Conservative Party), Jonathan Christopher Kent (Green Party), Paul Adrian Richards (Labour and Co-operative Party).

To vote, people must have photo ID with them when voting in person. If voting by proxy (somebody voting on your behalf), the proxy will need their photo ID too.