Two years ago Jenny Barnard-Langston was on course to become a Conservative MP.

The personable councillor who made such a hit as city mayor was standing in Hove, where Tory votes used to be weighed rather than counted.

But she lost to Labour MP Ivor Caplin and has now been beaten as a city councillor.

After the general election, she had to cope with the sad and sudden loss of her husband, fellow Tory councillor Steve Langston.

Then she married another Tory, Councillor Mark Barnard, and together they switched to the Liberal Democrats. They bravely contested the new ward of central Hove but lost to Tory newcomers.

Labour suffered the largest number of casualties. Perhaps most prominent was Frieda Warman-Brown.

The former headteacher and daughter of former Labour deputy Prime Minister George Brown, was surprised when she first won the Tory Vallance ward for Labour.

This ward disappeared but she came close to winning in Goldsmid, suffering mainly because her name was low down in the alphabet.

She was education councillor for many years in the city.

Another alphabetical casualty was long-serving Mike Middleton, representative for Seven Dials.

He lost in the new Preston Park ward mainly because he was down the list of candidates in a tight contest.

He was chairman of the task group set up to oversee the King Alfred redevelopment.

Two Labour councillors lost to the Tories in marginal Wish ward. One was Pat Murphy, responsible for affordable schemes in the ward.

The other was Heather James, an environment councillor who successfully headed a campaign to get a new paddling pool at Hove Lagoon.

Two more councillors disappeared in Hanover, where Labour lost ground to the Greens. John Newington had a special interest in personnel and in the scrutiny process of the council.

John Ballance was for many years the city environment councillor but relinquished that role to Chris Morley.

Former Brighton mayor Christine Simpson lost in St Peter's ward to the Greens.

Coun Simpson chaired the old parks committee on Brighton Council before becoming head of the scrutiny process on the new authority.

Labour councillor John Warmington, who moved from Regency to Brunswick, lost his seat. He was a former secretary of the Labour group.

On the Tory side, a notable casualty was Brian Rowe, former group leader on Hove Council and a man with a great interest in sports and the arts.

He switched from neighbouring Stanford and was only narrowly defeated in a split ward.

Woodingdean Tory councillor Pamela Stiles switched to Preston Park and was defeated there. Stephen Wade, former Hove Tory agent who contested Hangleton and Knoll, only narrowly lost.

Steve Collier, who became an Independent after leaving the Labour group last year, lost in South Portslade.

What will they do now? Some will try to come back if they can find safe seats.

Meanwhile, one way or the other, for good reasons or bad, they will all be missed.