Conservatives retain control of West Sussex County Council

Their majority has been slightly reduced following the local elections

Author: Ryan BurrowsPublished 8th May 2021

The Conservatives will remain in charge of West Sussex County Council for another four years following Thursday's local elections.

The final results were declared in Adur and Worthing on Saturday, after the bulk of the counts were completed on Friday.

The Tories won a total of 48 seats in all, giving them a majority of 26 on the 70-seat council.

The party finished with eight fewer seats than the 56 they managed in 2017, though - with all minor parties making gains.

The Liberal Democrats finished with 10 councillors, a gain of one, while Labour picked up four seats to finish on 9.

The Green Party also won their first seat on the authority, while the Local Alliance also picked up a seat and one independent was elected.

Becky Shaw, Chief Executive of West Sussex County Council said:

“The circumstances of these elections have been very unusual for all involved, and I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the district and borough councils for running the local elections so efficiently and safely.

“A lot of work and effort goes into running any election, but the added challenges of running an election during the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be underestimated.

"Thank you as well to everyone who ran the network of polling stations across the county and worked so hard to keep residents safe whilst they used their democratic right to vote.”

Before the elections the Conservatives held 50 seats on the council, Liberal Democrats 8, Labour 4, Independent members 4, Independent Conservatives 2 and 2 vacancies.

The first meeting of the new-look council will be on Friday 21 May, when the Chairman, the Leader of the council and all of the council’s committees will be appointed.

Here's how the elections went in each part of West Sussex:

ADUR: The Conservatives maintained their stronghold here, winning all five seats in the district. CONSERVATIVES 5

ARUN: Arun was one of the few areas of the county where the Tories picked up new seats - taking Rustington and Littlehampton Town from the Liberal Democrats, who control Arun District Council. Lib Dem group leader and ADC leader Dr James Walsh held onto his seat in Littlehampton East. CONSERVATIVES 11, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS 2

CHICHESTER: Minor parties made gains at the expense of the Conservatives in Chichester. The Greens won their first county council seat in Chichester South, while the Local Alliance gained Selsey and the Liberal Democrats took West. The Tories still remained the largest party in the district. CONSERVATIVES 6, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS 2, GREENS 1, LOCAL ALLIANCE 1

CRAWLEY: There was only one seat to change hands in Crawley, with Labour group leader Michael Jones losing Southgate and Gossops Green to Zack Ali of the Conservatives. CONSERVATIVES 5, LABOUR 4

HORSHAM: The Liberal Democrats gained Horsham East from the Conservatives but otherwise every seat went as it had in 2017, with council leader and Conservative group leader Paul Marshall re-elected in Storrington. CONSERVATIVES 9, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS 3

MID SUSSEX: The Conservatives lost three seats to the opposition in Mid Sussex but still took a majority of seats in the district, with the Lib Dems picking up Burgess Hill East and Burgess Hill North, and an independent winning Imberdown. CONSERVATIVES 8, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS 3, INDEPENDENT 1

WORTHING: Labour were the big winners in Worthing, picking up five seats to become the largest party. Four of those wins were at the expense of the Conservatives in Broadwater, Worthing East, Worthing Pier and Worthing West, while they also gained the former Lib Dem seat of Tarring. LABOUR 5, CONSERVATIVES 4

You can find the full results for every County Council seat in West Sussex here.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.