THE Green Party has deprived Labour of an overall majority on a Sussex council, after gaining three seats.

Labour saw their majority control on Hastings Borough Council disappear after losing the seats to the Greens in the local elections.

Labour now have 15 councillors, short of the 17 needed for a majority, while the Conservatives stay unchanged on 12. Meanwhile, the Greens have more than doubled their representation with five seats on the council.

One of the gains made by the Greens was in Gensing - the ward of former Labour council leader Kim Forward.

The Greens narrowly missed out on winning a fourth seat from Labour in Castle ward, which they lost by just five votes.

The gains were among more than 50 made by the Greens across England, winning almost 100 council seats.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay praised the party’s performance and said the local election results proved that the Greens are a “credible alternative to the establishment parties”.

He said: “The Green Party has now made breakthrough gains three elections running and we are expecting that trajectory to continue as people increasingly vote for candidates who listen, work hard on local issues, and are serious about the climate emergency.”

The party also gained a councillor from the Conservatives in Adur, bringing their number of councillors to two.

Labour’s loss in Hastings was countered by a historic win by the party in Worthing, where they gained six seats and majority control of the council.

Labour also gained a seat in Crawley, making them the largest party once again, as well as two gains on Adur District Council.

Nationally, the party has gained over 50 council seats and five councils, while the Conservatives have lost almost 300 councillors and ten councils.