Hastings Borough Council election results 2024 - council remains in no overall control

After the count concluded on Friday (May 3), 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 in no overall 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.

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 increased its overall number of seats but 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 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.

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 in 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.

Castle: Rob Cooke, Conservative: 181; Becca Horn, Green: 1,108; James Thomas, Labour: 700; GREEN GAIN, IND LOSS.

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.

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.

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.