# Lewes District Council elections

Lewes District Council in East Sussex, England is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2019, 41 councillors are elected from 21 wards.
Following the elections in May 2015, on 2 May 2019 and on 4 May 2023, the Council was composed as follows
| Year | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Green Party | Independent | Labour | UKIP |
| 2015 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 0 |

## Political parties

From its formation, until 2013, the council comprised mainly Conservative and Liberal Democrat or Liberal councillors, with a small number of independents and some Labour councillors at different points. However, in 2013 two Conservative members of the council crossed the floor and joined UKIP, giving the party its first Lewes District councillors. This also meant that the Conservatives lost control of the council, putting it in No overall control. In 2015, neither of the previous UKIP members were re-elected; however, a new UKIP District Councillor was elected to the council, and, for the first time in its history, three Green Party councillors.
2019 saw the Conservative Party return 19 councillors, and the Green Party increase their representation to nine councillors, becoming the second largest party, ahead of the Liberal Democrats, who managed eight. The Labour Party elected three councillors, and they were joined by two Independents.
However in 2021, one Green Party Councillor left the Green Party to join the Liberal Democrats on Lewes Council, making the Liberal Democrats the second largest party. In 2022 the Labour Party gained a seat from the Conservatives in a by-election. Then, in the 2023 local elections for all 41 Council seats, the Conservatives and Independents lost all of their remaining seats of Lewes Council, leaving the Green Party as the largest group, the Liberal Democrats as the second largest group, and the Labour Party as the remaining group.

## Council elections

* 1973 Lewes District Council election
* 1976 Lewes District Council election
* 1979 Lewes District Council election
* 1983 Lewes District Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 1987 Lewes District Council election
* 1991 Lewes District Council election
* 1995 Lewes District Council election (District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)
* 1999 Lewes District Council election
* 2003 Lewes District Council election (New ward boundaries reduced the number of seats by 7)
* 2007 Lewes District Council election
* 2011 Lewes District Council election
* 2015 Lewes District Council election
* 2019 Lewes District Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 2023 Lewes District Council election

## Results maps

* 2019 results map
* 2023 results map

## By-election results
### 1999-2003

Peacehaven North By-Election 6 December 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | | 450 | 49.3 | +10.1 |
| | Labour | | 293 | 32.1 | +10.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 169 | 18.5 | −20.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 157 | 17.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 912 | 16.3 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |

### 2003-2007

Peacehaven North By-Election 15 December 2005 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Chistopher Bishop | 406 | 64.6 | +12.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Carla Butler | 113 | 18.0 | −12.0 |
| | Labour | John Carden | 109 | 17.4 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 293 | 46.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 628 | 18.2 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Ouse Valley and Ringmer By-Election 17 August 2006 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Gardiner | 715 | 43.7 | +21.6 |
| | Conservative | Paul Gander | 521 | 31.8 | +6.5 |
| | Seagulls | Edward Bassford | 359 | 21.9 | +21.9 |
| | Labour | Trevor Hopper | 41 | 2.5 | −10.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 194 | 12.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,636 | 33.4 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Swing | | |

### 2015-2019

Lewes Bridge by-election 2 June 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Will Elliott | 543 | 44.6 | +17.1 |
| | Green | Johnny Denis | 345 | 28.3 | +7.7 |
| | Labour | Richard Hurn | 212 | 17.4 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative | Roy Burman | 117 | 9.6 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 198 | 16.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,217 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Seaford West by-election 8 June 2017 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Liz Boorman | 1,573 | 51.8 | +6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Will Elliott | 806 | 26.6 | −0.5 |
| | Labour | Barbara Hayes | 363 | 12.0 | +12.0 |
| | UKIP | Eric Woodward | 152 | 5.0 | −14.2 |
| | Green | Zoe Ford | 141 | 4.6 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 767 | 25.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,035 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Ouse Valley & Ringmer by-election 7 September 2017 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Johnny Denis | 835 | 38.7 | +22.3 |
| | Conservative | Clare Herbert | 660 | 30.6 | +1.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Gardiner | 457 | 21.2 | −8.0 |
| | Labour | Tim Telford | 167 | 7.7 | −4.4 |
| | UKIP | Phil Howson | 38 | 1.8 | −11.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 175 | 8.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,161 | 42 | |
| | Green gain from Conservative | Green gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Chailey and Wivelsfield by-election 2 July 2018 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Nancy Bikson | 563 | 53.6 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marion Hughes | 324 | 30.8 | +5.0 |
| | Labour | Nicholas Belcher | 104 | 9.9 | +9.9 |
| | Green | Brenda Barnes | 60 | 5.7 | −6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 239 | 22.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,051 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### 2019-2023

Seaford East by-election 6 May 2021 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Turner | 820 | 47.5 | +6.8 |
| | Green | James Meek | 452 | 26.2 | +4.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pinky Adil | 347 | 20.1 | +20.1 |
| | Labour | Ann Biddle | 109 | 6.3 | −10.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 368 | 21.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,728 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Seaford West by-election 6 May 2021 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Linda Wallraven | 1,028 | 56.3 | +9.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Olivia Honeyman | 401 | 22.0 | +22.0 |
| | Green | Gemma McFarlane | 277 | 15.2 | −19.0 |
| | Labour | Chris Purser | 120 | 6.6 | −12.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 627 | 34.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,826 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Peacehaven West by-election 12 May 2022 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ciarron Clarkson | 641 | 54.7 | +54.7 |
| | Conservative | Katie Sanderson | 467 | 39.8 | +13.8 |
| | Green | Holly Atkins | 32 | 2.7 | −14.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Lee | 32 | 2.7 | −13.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 174 | 14.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,172 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### 2023-2027

Wivelsfield by-election 10 October 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Sue Morris | 315 | 42.3 | −10.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nadine Stothard | 216 | 29.0 | +18.2 |
| | Conservative | Sarah Webster | 213 | 28.6 | −7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 99 | 13.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 744 | | |
| | Green hold | Green hold | Swing | | |