Candidates and Battlegrounds
Name in bold type denotes sitting councillor seeking re-election
Ashdown 2021 Con Hold
Daniel Hope (Green)
Thee Kuga (Reform UK)
Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood (Con)
Stephen Milton (Lib Dem)
Steve Thorpe (Lab)
Ashdown has been a safe Conservative ward but Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood faces a Reform candidate as well as progressive/left challengers.
Baird 2021 Con Gain from Lab
Liam Atkins (Con)
Peter Bailey (Ind)
Liam Crowter (Lab)
Emlyn Jones (Lib Dem)
Yunis Smith (Green)
The Conservatives won the seat off Labour in 2021 by 72 votes. Mike Turner comfortably took the seat the following year for Labour but is now an Independent. Peter Bailey is the Chair of the Pilot Field Area Residents’ Association and may attract a strong personal vote.
Braybrooke 2021 Lab Hold
Shelley Bland (Con)
Mark Etherington (Green)
Tim Shand (Lab)
Braybrooke has been safe Labour, but sitting councillor Sabina Arthur has had the party whip removed and been replaced by fresh candidate Tim Shand. The Greens came a distant third in 2021 but the following year replaced the Conservatives in second place.
Castle 2021 Lab Hold
Rob Cooke (Con)
Becca Horn (Green)
James Thomas (Lab)
Claire Carr comfortably won the seat for Labour in 2021 before defecting to the Greens and then becoming an Independent. In 2022, Becca Horn of the Greens came within five votes of defeating Labour’s Judy Rogers: she will be hoping to top the poll this time.
Central St Leonards 2021 Lab Hold
Craig Andrew (Con)
Adele Bates (Green)
Richard Haberkost (Ind)
Josh Matthews (Lab)
Steph Warren (Ind)
Labour may miss the experience of Trevor Webb, who comfortably won in 2021 but now contests the West St Leonards seat instead. Josh Matthews, a local family businessman, is their new candidate. Local campaigner Adele Bates of the Greens will be hoping to build on her party’s success over Labour in 2022.
Conquest 2021 Con Hold
Paul Foster (Con)
Tracey Lord (Green)
Dr Hugh Nicholson (Lab)
Stewart Rayment (Lib Dem)
Anna Winston (Ind)
Paul Foster scored the highest percentage of votes cast in any ward in the Borough in 2021, taking 61.3% of the vote. Labour are fielding a retired GP Dr Hugh Nicholson with the aim of appealing to local NHS staff. The recent problems at Old Roar Gill may be an issue.
Gensing 2021 Lab Hold
Edwina Hughes (Lab)
Christopher Meaden (Con)
Paula Warne (Green)
Labour leader Heather Bishop won comfortably in 2021 but has shifted her candidacy to Ore. In 2022 Amanda Jobson of the Greens defeated Kim Forward, then Labour leader.
Hollington 2021 Lab Hold
Stephen Butterton (Con)
Maya Evans (Ind)
Danuta Kean (Lab)
Dulcie Reynolds (Green)
Maya Evans won here in 2021 for Labour before defecting to the Hastings Independents. Her leader Paul Barnett won similarly in 2022. It looks a straight fight between Cllr Evans, who has kept a high profile in the ward, and new Labour candidate Danuta Kean.
Maze Hill 2021 Con Hold
Sarah Buller (Ind)
Darren MacKenzie (Green)
Bruce Meredeen (Lib Dem)
Paul Murphy (Reform UK)
Mike Southon (Lab)
Graeme Williams (Con)
Graeme Wiliams polled over 50% of the vote here in 2021. He now faces a Reform challenge but progressive/left votes will be split four ways.
Old Hastings 2021 Green Gain from Lab
Martin Clarke (Con)
Jeremy Hicks (Lab)
Julia Hilton (Green)
Julia Hilton has a high profile after rising from being the only Green on the council to becoming its leader in less than three years. That may cut both ways. Labour’s James Bacon won here in 2022, and there are no Lib Dems or Independents to distract from the straight contest between Cllr Hilton and Jeremy Hicks.
Ore 2021 Con Gain from Lab
Heather Bishop (Lab)
Roger Streeten (Con)
Robert Wakeford (Lib Dem)
Jo Walker (Green)
Ore has traditionally been a swing seat between Labour and the Conservatives. The Tories won in 2021 when they were riding high in the polls, whilst Simon Willis won for Labour the following year. Recently elevated Labour leader Heather Bishop has moved her candidacy here from Gensing.
Silverhill 2021 Con Gain from Lab
Lesley Arshad (Green)
Billie Barnes (Lab)
Lucian Fernando (Reform UK)
Max Hewitt (Con)
Terry Keen (Lib Dem)
One of the big surprises of the 2021 election was Lucian Fernando’s success in Silverhill for the Conservatives, where he defeated Labour stalwart Margi O’Callaghan, the current Mayor. Nigel Sinden won here in 2022 for Labour, but he nor Cllr Fernando have remained with their respective parties, having defected to the Independents and to Reform UK respectively.
St Helens 2021 Con Gain from Lab
Ollie Hunter (Green)
Bob Lloyd (Lib Dem)
Jackie Patton (Ind)
Peter Pragnell (Con)
David Whitehill (Lab)
Conservative Peter Pragnell shocked Labour here in 2021 in winning the seat and polling almost 50% of the total vote. Andy Batsford, former Labour cabinet member now defected to the Independents, won in 2022. Cllr Pragnell could repeat his success if opposing votes are split between four progressive/left alternatives including new Labour candidate David Whitehill and Independents hopeful, Jackie Patton.
Tressell 2021 Lab Hold
Sue Clarke (Con)
Natalie Gaimster (Green)
Anna Sabin (Lab)
Tressell is set for a battle between Labour and the Greens. The ward was regarded as solid Labour and previously represented by Peter Chowney, then Council leader. But 2021 winner Ali Roark, another defector to the Independents, is not seeking re-election, and Glenn Haffenden, deputy leader of the Greens, took the seat in 2022 with over 50% of the vote.
West St Leonards 2021 Con Hold
Karl Beaney (Con)
Marisa McGreevy-Rose (Green)
Jonathon Stoodley (Lib Dem)
Adam Taylor-Foster (Ind)
Trevor Webb (Lab)
West St Leonards has been a traditional Conservative heartland. Sitting councillor Karl Beaney faces four progressive/left candidates including long-standing HBC and East Sussex County councillor, Trevor Webb.
Wishing Tree 2021 Lab Hold
Helen Kay (Lab)
Rob Lee (Con)
Ian Miller (Ind)
Mike Wharton (Green)
Wishing Tree has voted consistently for Labour in the past, but sitting councillor Alan Roberts is not standing again, and the 2022 victor John Cannan, who took over 50% of the vote, is a defector to the Hastings Independents. Rob Lee, former Conservative leader, is seeking a come-back and will hope for a split of votes between new Labour candidate Helen Kay and Ian Miller of the Independents.
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner
The election for the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner will be held on the same day as the local elections for HBC.
The role of Police and Crime Commissioner was created in 2012 to replace the old Sussex Police Authority. The incumbent is tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by the police across Sussex and is required to produce a strategic Sussex Police and Crime Plan, setting out the priorities for the local police force.
Conservative Katy Bourne was first elected to the post in 2012. Re-elected in 2016 and in 2021, she is standing again in 2024 for another four-year term. Her opponents are: Jamie Bennett (Liberal Democrat); Jonathan Kent (Green Party); and Paul Richards (Labour).
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