Election Preparations Gather Pace
Of the eight Hastings Independents councillors on the borough council who defected en masse from the Labour party last December, six were elected in 2022 and are thus not up for re-election until 2026. Another, Cllr Ali Roark, has stated that she does not intend to stand again. Thus only Cllr Maya Evans, ward councillor for Hollington and former deputy leader of the council, will be putting herself on the ballot in May.
Cllr Maya Evans pictured at recent Hastings Independents meeting
However, the Independents have announced that they will be fielding candidates in eight other wards as well – six currently held by Conservatives (Ashdown, Baird, Conquest, Maze Hill, St Helens, West St Leonards and Wishing Tree), two by Labour (Central St Leonards and Wishing Tree).
Cllr Andy Batsford has admitted that, without any national party organisation to back them, they are heavily reliant upon local volunteers to provide logistical support, including social media messaging, for their relatively unknown candidates. One candidate, however, Peter Bailey in Baird, should be well known to local voters, having headed the opposition to redevelopment of the Pilot Field within the ward.
Labour and Green party canvassers have in the meantime been out in strength in the streets of several wards. Labour brochures appear designed to appeal on a broad front, preparing for a forthcoming national election as well as the local ones: they refer to their constituency candidate Helena Dollimore, championing her role in saving the Ridge Fire Station. Both parties take pains to ascribe pothole responsibility to East Sussex County Council (under a Conservative administration) while claiming that their candidates will make it their priority business to maximise reporting on incidents within their wards.
The Conservatives, who will be defending eight of the 16 ward seats in the borough, seem to have kept a lower profile. But Reform UK has established a new local constituency branch in Hastings & Rye following the selection of Lucian Fernando, who, as ward councillor for Silverhill on Hastings Borough Council, defected from the Conservative party to Reform last year, to contest the parliamentary seat in the next general election.
The launch event in the Laya restaurant in St Leonards last Thursday (22 March) was also attended by Cllr Abul Azad, who represents Bexhill North on the county council and is Reform’s candidate in the neighbouring constituency of Bexhill & Battle. Cllr Fernando said his party was “dedicated to fostering an inclusive and transparent political environment where every voice is heard, and every concern is addressed”. He promised to “work tirelessly to enact positive change and to build a brighter future for everyone in Hastings and Rye”.
Correction:
In HIP 247 we published an article Can you hear the election drums Fernando which stated that in June 2021 Cllr Fernando had been “arrested and charged with being drunk in charge of a car. He was later fined and disqualified from driving for a year.” He has told us that he was “detained” and not “arrested”, and that he was disqualified for six months, not a year.
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