Hastings and Rother county council election full results are in

FULL HASTINGS RESULTS: four Conservative holds, three Labour holds and one Green gain.

FULL ROTHER RESULTS: six Conservative holds, one Conservative gain, one Independent hold and one Lib Dem hold.

There were eight Hastings seats up for election and nine across Rother.

In Hastings only one county division changed hands, with Green Julia Hilton taking Old Hastings and Tressell from Labour.

With two Conservatives not standing again, Alan Hay and Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood were elected to County Hall for the first time in Baird & Ore and St Helens & Silverhill respectively.

Meanwhile in Rother, while Charles Clark retained his Bexhill East seat, fellow independent Deidre Earl-Williams lost out in Bexhill West to Conservative Nuala Geary.

Mr Clark said: “I am very pleased to have been re-elected as the county councillor for Bexhill East. It was a very close contest this time and I cannot thank enough the residents of St Michaels and Old Town wards for the support they have shown in re-electing me.”

There are several other new Conservative councillors in the town, with Abul Azad returned for Bexhill North and Ian Hollidge in Bexhill South.

Conservative Paul Redstone, who was elected in Northern Rother for the first time, said: “I am delighted to have been elected county councillor for Northern Rother which includes seven parishes from Robertsbridge to Rye Foreign.

“I will work as least as hard for all residents of this area and of East Sussex as my predecessor Angharad Davies, who has stepped down after many years of service.

“We face many challenges but the pandemic has shown that we can adapt to adversity and find new ways of working, communicating with our families and friends and relaxing. Thank you to all who have put their trust in me.”

Fellow Tory and new county councillor Eleanor Kirby-Green added: “I am delighted to have been elected as the County Councillor for Rother North West.

“Those of us in this part of East Sussex are fortunate to live in one of most beautiful parts of the South East and I want to ensure that it stays that way.

“I look forward to working with residents to represent their best interests at County Hall whilst ensuring the Conservative led council continues to offer value for oney whilst delivering highly rated services.”

A spokesperson for the Hastings Green Party felt both county and borough councils need to ‘work much more proactively with local groups to co-design imaginative and community-led solutions to tackling climate change and creating a local economy that works for everyone and is within planetary limits’.

They added: “Hastings Greens did incredibly well across the town this year, increasing our vote share in every single ward, and coming second in three wards as well as winning Old Hastings.

“It shows that people want change, and are willing to vote for it.”

Although Labour did not pick up any county council seats in Rother, a spokesman said they were ‘delighted to have made great strides in a traditionally Conservative area’.

LIVE UPDATES:

19.57: CON HOLD- Rother North West. Eleanor Kirby-Green (Conservative) 1923 - ELECTED, Donald Nicholls (Green) 635, Joseph Roper (Labour) 364.

CON HOLD - Rye and Eastern Rother. Keith Glazier (Conservative) 1849 - ELECTED, Ashley Madden (Labour) 676, Dominic Manning (Green) 819.

19.49: CON HOLD - Northern Rother. Stephen Hardy (Liberal Democrat) 880, Tim MacPherson (Labour) 360, Paul Redstone (Conservative) 1838 - ELECTED.

19.48: CON HOLD - Brede Valley and Marsham. Wayne Andrews (Reform UK) 81, Beverley Coupar (Independent) 1158, Liam Crowter (Labour) 394, Carl Maynard (Conservative) 1871 - ELECTED.

19.43: CON GAIN - Bexhill West. Wendy Dash (Liberal Democrat) 386, Deirdre Earl-Williams (Independent) 1389, Nuala Geary (Conservative) 1729 - ELECTED, Nigel Jacklin (The Democratic Network) 99, John Walker (Labour) 433.

19.40: CON HOLD - Bexhill South. Andrew Crotty (Independent) 392, Ian Hollidge (Conservative) 1405 - ELECTED, Yolanda Laybourne (Independent) 720, Richard Sage (Labour) 798, Patrick Stappleton (Independent) 194.

19.38: CON HOLD - Bexhill North. Abul Azad (Conservative) 1597 - ELECTED, Christine Bayliss (Labour) 907, Jonathan James (Liberal Democrat) 265.

19.35: IND HOLD - Bexhill East. Joanna Brewerton (Indepedent) 394, Susan Burton (Green) 377, Charles Clark (Independent) 763 - ELECTED, Martin Kenward (Conservative) 744, Jacqueline Walker (Labour) 323.

19.33: LIB DEM HOLD Battle and Crowhurst - Bernard Brown (Conservative) 1183, Kathryn Field (Liberal Democrat) 1683 - ELECTED, Christopher Husbands (Labour) 293.

17.59: GREEN GAIN Old Hastings and Tressell - ARCHBOLD Fiona -The Conservative Party Candidate: 757, COX Ruby - Labour Party: 1,013, HILTON Julia - Green Party: 1,125 - elected, SAUNDERS Gene - Liberal Democrats: 90.

CONSERVATIVE HOLD - St Helens and Silverhill: CAREY-STUART Dave - Green Party: 419, LLOYD Bob - Liberal Democrats:194, MARLOW-EASTWOOD Sorrell - The Conservative Party Candidate:1,591 - elected, O`CALLAGHAN Margi - Labour Party: 1,186.

17.53: LABOUR HOLD - Hollington and Wishing Tree. JONES Emlyn - Liberal Democrats: 101, MCCRAY Beccy - Green Party: 190, PATMORE Andy - The Conservative Party Candidate: 887, SCOTT Phil - Labour Party (Incumbent): 1,198 - ELECTED.

CONSERVATIVE HOLD - Maze Hill and West St Leonards. BEAVER Matthew - The Conservative Party Candidate (Incumbent): 1,447 - ELECTED, HEFFERNAN Samuel - Green Party: 354, RAYMENT Stewart Gregory - Liberal Democrats: 179, SINDEN Nigel Colin - Labour Party: 707.

17.40: CONSERVATIVE HOLD - Baird and Ore - HAY Alan - The Conservative Party Candidate: 1,188 - ELECTED, HOPE Daniel - Green Party: 268, ROARK Ali - Labour Party: 937, WAKEFORD Robert John - Liberal Democrats: 78.

LABOUR HOLD - Braybrooke and Castle - DANIEL Godfrey - Labour Party (Incumbent): 1,633 - ELECTED, FERNANDO Lucian - The Conservative Party Candidate: 766, HUNTER-BURBRIDGE Katy - Liberal Democrats: 201, PHILLIPS Sally - Green Party: 693.

CONSERVATIVE HOLD - Ashdown and Conquest - GRIFFITHS Martin Paul - Liberal Democrats: 235, PRAGNELL Peter - The Conservative Party Candidate (Incumbent) 1609 - elected, ROGERS Judy - Labour Party 629, SAUNDERS Christopher - Green Party 219.

LABOUR HOLD: Central St Leonards and Gensing -DAVIS Kenneth George - Green Party: 832, MILTON Stephen Ludwig - Liberal Democrats: 203, WEBB Trevor Edward - Labour Party (Incumbent): 1,463 - ELECTED, WILLIAMS Graeme - The Conservative Party Candidate: 757.

15.10: All the results for the Hastings Borough Council election have been announced, with the focus now shifting on to the town’s county council seats.

15.04: If any party wants a majority on the county council the number they are aiming for is 26 (out of 50). Last time the Conservatives took 30, so all they have to do to retain control at County Hall all they have to do is hold on to most of their seats.

14.52: East Sussex County Council’s website has a handy interactive map which will be updated with the results as they come in. It’s currently blank with no announcements yet.

13.50: If the borough council results are anything to go by, we could be in for an exciting afternoon. The Conservatives have already taken two seats from Labour, while the Greens have a councillor with Julia Hilton being elected in Old Hastings.