Hastings Borough Council remains in no overall control, after a day of significant gains for the Green Party. 

After the count concluded on Friday, the Green Party was left as Hastings Borough Council’s largest political group — winning eight new seats and successfully defending another. 

The authority holds elections every two years, with one out of the two seats which make up each ward up for election. This meant part of the council’s post-election political line up was already known. 

The council had been under no overall party control going into the election, with 10 Conservatives, four Greens, eight members of the Hastings Independent Group, six Labour councillors, one Reform UK councillor and three unaffiliated Independents.

READ MORE: Crawley election results see Labour gains

The final count left Greens holding 12 seats, Labour with eight seats, six members of the Hastings Independent Group (HIG), five Conservatives and one Independent. 

Of these, three Conservatives, three Greens, six members of the Hastings Independent Group (HIG), three Labour councillors, and one Independent represented seats which were not up for election. 

The Green Party were the clear victors, winning seats in Baird, Braybrooke, Castle, Central St Leonards, Gensing, Maze Hill, Ore and Tressell, while also holding on to Cllr Julia Hilton’s seat in Old Hastings. 

Conversely, it was a tough day for Conservatives, with the party only holding on to two out of the seven seats it had been defending. The party lost two seats to Labour and three to the Greens, but held on to its seats in Ashdown and Conquest.

Labour saw more bittersweet results. While the party increased its overall number of seats, it also failed to win in several wards it had won in the 2021 and 2022 elections. 

While held by independents going into the election, the councillors for Braybrooke, Castle and Tressell had all been elected as Labour councillors in the 2021 election. All three seats were won by the Greens.

The final count also saw Labour group leader Heather Bishop lose her bid to win a seat in Ore. This seat had been held by Conservatives, but turned to Labour in the 2022 election. It was ultimately won by the Greens this time round. Cllr Bishop had previously represented Gensing, a seat Labour lost to the Greens. 

However, Labour did succeed in winning in Hollington, preventing the Hastings Independent Group’s Maya Evans from securing re-election. 

Notably, Cllr Evans had been the only member of the Hastings Independent Group — with its sitting councillors all formerly Labour candidates — seeking re-election this year. 

Labour also secured three new seats, winning in Silverhill, St Helens and West Leonards, taking Silverhill from Reform councillor Lucian Fernando and preventing Conservative incumbents Peter Pragnell and Karl Beaney from winning re-election.  

The results leave Hastings Borough Council under no overall control for at least the next two years. With the Greens as the largest group, Julia Hilton is likely to be council leader once again — a position she has held since the beginning of this year, following the formation of the Hastings Independent Group. 

 

Ashdown

Daniel Hope, Green: 167

Thee Kuga, Reform UK: 116

Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood, Conservative: 470

Stephen Ludwig Milton, Liberal Democrat: 69

Steve Thorpe, Labour: 398

CON HOLD

Baird

Liam Atkins, Conservative: 312

Peter Charles Kingsley Bailey, Independent: 289

Liam Thomas David Crowter, Labour: 312

Emlyn Jones, Liberal Democrat: 35

Yunis Smith, Green: 387

GREEN GAIN, CON LOSS.

Braybrooke

Shelley Bland, Conservative: 161

Mark Richard Etherington, Green: 1,001

Tim John Cairns Shand, Labour: 616

GREEN GAIN, IND LOSS*

Incumbent was elected as a Lab councillor. 

Castle

Rob Cooke, Conservative: 181

Becca Horn, Green: 1,108

James Thomas, Labour: 700

GREEN GAIN, IND LOSS*

Incumbent councillor Clare Carr had initially been elected as Labour councillor.

Central St Leonards

Craig Steven Andrew, Conservative: 156

Adele Judith Bates, Green: 820

Richard Haberkost, Unaffiliated: 50

Josh Matthews, Labour: 541

Steph Warren, Independent: 275

GREEN GAIN, LAB LOSS

Conquest

Paul Patrick James Foster, Conservative: 491

Tracey Lord, Green: 143

Hugh Philip Nicholson, Labour: 386

Stewart Gregory Rayment, Liberal Democrat: 107

Anna Mary Winston, Independent: 191

CON HOLD

Gensing

Edwina Hughes, Labour: 602

Christopher Meaden, Conservative: 183

Paula Vanessa Warne, Green: 1,073

GREEN GAIN, LAB LOSS

Hollington

Stephen Scott Butterton, Conservative: 261

Maya Anne Evans, Independent: 351

Danuta Kean, Labour: 395

Dulcie Charlotte Reynolds, Green: 74

LAB GAIN*, HIG LOSS

*Labour won the seat in 2021, with incumbant Maya Evans

Maze Hill

Sarah Amanda Chabala Buller, Independent: 68

Darren Buist Mackenzie, Green: 590

Bruce Meredeen, Liberal Democrat: 40

Paul Murphy, Reform UK: 83

Mike Southon, Labour: 397

Graeme David, Conservative: 380

GREEN GAIN, CON LOSS

Old Hastings

Martin Hugh Clarke, Conservative: 189 

Jeremy Guy Hicks, Labour: 536

Julia Jayne Hilton, Green: 1,123

GREEN HOLD 

Ore

Heather Alison Bishop, Labour: 327

Roger Streeten, Conservative: 195

Robert John Wakeford, Liberal Democrat: 37

Jo Walker, Green: 763

GREEN GAIN, CON LOSS

Silverhill

Lesley Ann Sammah Arshad, Green: 336

Billie Blue Ann Mary Barnes, Labour: 643

Lucian Fernando, Reform UK: 146

Max William James Hewitt, Conservative: 393

Terry Keen, Liberal Democrat: 56

LAB GAIN, REFORM LOSS

St Helens

Ollie Hunter, Green: 287

Bob Lloyd, Liberal Democrat: 91

Jackie Patton, Independent: 293

Peter William Pragnell, Conservative: 456

David Edgar Whitehill, Labour: 503

LAB GAIN, CON LOSS

Tressell

Sue Clarke, Conservative: 104

Natalie Sophia Rayner Gaimster, Green: 817

Anna Jane Sabin, Labour: 324

GREEN GAIN, IND LOSS*

Incumbent elected as a Labour councillor.

West St Leonards

Karl Beaney, Conservative: 402

Marisa McGreevy-Rose, Green: 182

Jonathan Stoodley, Liberal Democrat: 44

Adam Daniel Taylor-Foster, Independent: 70

Trevor Edward Webb, Labour: 441

LAB GAIN, CON LOSS

Wishing Tree

Helen Louise Kay, Labour: 603

Rob Lee, Conservative: 216

Ian Peter Miller, Independent: 213

Mike Wharton, Green: 142

LAB HOLD