Conservatives Retain West Sussex County Council With Reduced Majority

Saturday, 8 May 2021 14:08

By Oliver Dyer @olidyer

The Conservatives have retained control of West Sussex County Council - but with a reduced majority.

The votes are in following Thursday's local elections.

Counting took place at the end of last week and into the weekend.

Of the 70 seats available, the Conservatives took 48 - two less than they had previously.

Lib Dems took 10, meaning the it remains the largest minority party at County Hall. Labour, meanwhile, claimed nine.

The new composition of the 70-member council is:

Conservatives: 48 councillors
Liberal Democrats: 10 councillors
Labour: 9 councillors
Green Party: 1 councillor
Independent: 1 councillor
Local Alliance: 1 councillor

Labour took five of the nine seats on offer in Worthing. While, in Arun, the Tories took both Arun District Council by-elections.

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.

The meeting will be webcast via www.westsussex.gov.uk.

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