2023 Mid Sussex District Council election

2023 Mid Sussex District Council election

← 2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 48 seats to Mid Sussex District Council 25 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Liberal Democrats Conservative Independent Last election 13 seats, 30.2% 34 seats, 40.0% 4 seats, 8.2% Seats won 20 18 5 Seat change 8 11 1 Popular vote 28,248 25,147 7,858 Percentage 37.0% 32.9% 10.3% Swing 6.8% 7.1% 2.1%   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Green Labour Last election 3 seats, 11.4% 0 seats, 9.2% Seats won 4 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 9,172 5,870 Percentage 12.0% 7.7% Swing 0.6% 1.5%
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Mid Sussex District Council election
Leader before election Conservative Leader after election No overall control

The 2023 Mid Sussex District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Mid Sussex District Council in West Sussex, England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections in England.

New ward boundaries were drawn up for this election, with the number of seats on the council reducing from 54 to 48.^[2]

Prior to the election the council was under Conservative majority control. Following the election the council was left under no overall control with the Liberal Democrats being the largest party; the Conservative leader of the council, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, lost his seat. Following the election a minority administration of the Liberal Democrats and four of the five independent councillors took control of the council, with Liberal Democrat councillor Robert Eggleston being appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 23 May 2023.^[3]

The overall results were as follows:^[4]

2023 Mid Sussex District Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	39	20	8	0	8	41.7	37.0	28,248	+6.8
	Conservative	48	18	0	11	11	37.5	32.9	25,147	–7.1
	Independent	20	5	1	0	1	10.4	10.3	7,858	+2.1
	Green	25	4	1	0	1	8.3	12.0	9,172	+0.6
	Labour	19	1	1	0	1	2.1	7.7	5,870	–1.5
	Monster Raving Loony	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	150	N/A

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Mid Sussex District Council following the close of nominations on 4 April 2023.^[5] The results were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election.^[6][7]

Ardingly, Balcombe & Turners Hill (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Jenny Edwards*	709	40.4
	Conservative	Gary Marsh*	567	32.3
	Green	Matt Brewin	565	32.2
	Conservative	Bruce Forbes	511	29.2
	Independent	Julian Smith	393	22.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Jerrit	358	20.4
	Independent	Barry Theobald	243	13.9
Turnout			1,753	37.8
Registered electors			4,650
	Green win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Ashurst Wood & East Grinstead South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Belsey*	535	64.0
	Green	Pete Wells	168	20.1
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Knight	133	15.9
Majority			367	43.9
Turnout			836	41.1
Registered electors			2,053
	Conservative win (new seat)

Burgess Hill Dunstall (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Kennedy	648	41.6
	Conservative	Mustak Miah	622	40.0
	Liberal Democrats	Giles Parsons	553	35.5
	Conservative	Chris Mucklestone	526	33.8
	Independent	Yann Davies	249	16.0
	Labour	Pam Haigh	174	11.2
Turnout			1,556	38.0
Registered electors			4,100
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Burgess Hill Franklands (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Janice Henwood*	1,130	63.0
	Liberal Democrats	David Eggleton	1,107	61.7
	Conservative	Claire Fussell	404	22.5
	Conservative	Tobias Parker	393	21.9
	Independent	Andy Stowe	328	18.3
Turnout			1,793	43.0
Registered electors			4,213
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Burgess Hill Leylands (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Anne Eves*	848	61.5
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Hicks*	813	59.0
	Conservative	Colin Holden	383	27.8
	Conservative	Adam White	331	24.0
Turnout			1,379	37.7
Registered electors			3,702
	Green hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Burgess Hill Meeds & Hammonds (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Eggleston*	1,208	67.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tofojjul Hussain*	1,046	58.0
	Independent	Sean Kelly	402	22.3
	Conservative	Cherry Catharine	334	18.5
	Conservative	Elizabeth White	287	15.9
Turnout			1,803	38.1
Registered electors			4,770
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

Burgess Hill St Andrews (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Cherry	800	45.5
	Green	Matthew Cornish*	665	37.8
	Independent	Ray Woods	442	25.1
	Conservative	Jeremy Catharine	368	20.9
	Labour	Joanne Rodway	319	18.1
	Conservative	Toby Dawson	317	18.0
	Labour	Rebecca Sinnatt	212	12.1
Turnout			1,758	35.0
Registered electors			5,057
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Green hold

Burgess Hill Victoria

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Peter Chapman*	666	66.7
	Labour	Linda Gregory	201	20.1
	Conservative	Martin Willcock	132	13.2
Majority			465	46.6
Turnout			999	32.4
Registered electors			3,124
	Independent hold

Copthorne and Worth (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Casella	612	50.9
	Independent	Christopher Phillips*	505	42.0
	Conservative	Tony Dorey	481	40.0
	Liberal Democrats	Maggie Aston	323	26.9
	Green	Lorcan Smith	219	18.2
Turnout			1,202	28.2
Registered electors			4,276
	Conservative gain from Independent
	Independent hold

Crawley Down (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ian Gibson*	1,080	62.6
	Independent	John Hitchcock	980	56.8
	Conservative	Liz Williams	439	25.5
	Conservative	Philip Coote*	403	23.4
	Green	Gordon Westcott	188	10.9
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Goldsmith	159	9.2
Turnout			1,724	37.2
Registered electors			4,653
	Independent win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)

Cuckfield, Bolney & Ansty (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Malcolm Avery	894	45.3
	Conservative	Jim Knight*	706	35.8
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara King	540	27.4
	Independent	Sacha Dykes	419	21.2
	Liberal Democrats	James Holloway	367	18.6
	Green	Rachel McNamara	360	18.3
	Labour	Andrew Foster	292	14.8
	Monster Raving Loony	Baron Von Thunderclap	150	7.6
Turnout			1,972	39.4
Registered electors			5,007
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Downland Villages

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoff Zeidler	511	55.5
	Liberal Democrats	Neville Searle	185	20.1
	Labour	Norina O'Hare	116	12.6
	Green	Clare Rogers	109	11.8
Majority			326	35.4
Turnout			921	36.8
Registered electors			2,525
	Conservative win (new seat)

East Grinstead Ashplats (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret Belsey*	696	48.6
	Conservative	Adam Peacock*	561	39.2
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Lane	310	21.6
	Independent	Carly Godfrey	272	19.0
	Green	Alex Langridge	272	19.0
	Labour	Thomas Britton	266	18.6
	Independent	Stef Hillwood	254	17.7
Turnout			1,432	27.2
Registered electors			5,298
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

East Grinstead Baldwins

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Julie Mockford*	340	38.5
	Conservative	Christopher Evans	292	33.1
	Liberal Democrats	Fathi Tarada	250	28.3
Majority			48	5.4
Turnout			882	33.1
Registered electors			2,687
	Independent gain from Conservative

East Grinstead Herontye

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dick Sweatman*	429	45.6
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Hall	272	28.9
	Independent	Nick Gibson	126	13.4
	Green	Sharon Martin	113	12.0
Majority			157	16.7
Turnout			940	35.0
Registered electors			2,706
	Conservative hold

East Grinstead Imberhorne (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rex Whittaker*	666	43.2
	Conservative	Lee Farren	530	34.4
	Independent	Heidi Brunsdon*	517	33.5
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Williams	412	26.7
	Green	Chrissie Masters	342	22.2
	Independent	Christopher Lomas	333	21.6
Turnout			1,542	31.4
Registered electors			4,989
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

East Grinstead Town (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jacquie Russell	539	40.0
	Conservative	John Dabell*	504	37.4
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Barnett	498	36.9
	Liberal Democrats	Lee Gibbs	378	28.0
	Green	Laura Buonocore	203	15.0
	Independent	Norman Mockford	199	14.8
	Labour	David Wilbraham	183	13.6
Turnout			1,349	27.6
Registered electors			4,905
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Handcross & Pease Pottage

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eric Prescott	270	44.0
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Cox	199	32.4
	Independent	Carole Steggles	145	23.6
Majority			71	11.6
Turnout			621	23.4
Registered electors			2,655
	Conservative win (new seat)

Hassocks (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Hatton*	2,314	75.2
	Liberal Democrats	Kristian Berggreen	2,084	67.7
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Hobbs	1,699	55.2
	Conservative	Alex Simmons	587	19.1
	Labour	Alison Whelan	564	18.3
	Green	Marie Holmstrom	541	17.6
	Conservative	Philip Beck	474	15.4
	Conservative	Stephen Horsfield	423	13.7
Turnout			3,077	46.0
Registered electors			6,727
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Haywards Heath Ashenground (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Bates*	873	48.5
	Liberal Democrats	Duncan Pascoe	708	39.4
	Conservative	Sujan Wickremaratchi	532	29.6
	Conservative	Justin Cromie	467	26.0
	Labour	Murray Crump	370	20.6
	Green	Richard Kail	328	18.2
Turnout			1,799	33.2
Registered electors			5,424
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Haywards Heath Bentswood & Heath (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Rees	751	45.5
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Platts	700	42.4
	Conservative	Rachel Cromie*	560	33.9
	Conservative	Stephen Hillier*	552	33.4
	Labour	Jack Taplin	369	22.4
	Green	Deanna Nicholson	311	18.8
	Labour	Benjamin Webb	251	15.2
Turnout			1,651	29.6
Registered electors			5,644
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

Haywards Heath Franklands (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rod Clarke*	620	36.8
	Labour	Paul Kenny	594	35.3
	Labour	Tim Weekes	562	33.4
	Conservative	Mike Pulfer*	536	31.8
	Liberal Democrats	Anne-Marie Lucraft	359	21.3
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Knight	293	17.4
	Green	Caroline Mendes	192	11.4
Turnout			1,685	36.8
Registered electors			4,608
	Conservative hold
	Labour gain from Conservative

Haywards Heath Lucastes & Bolnore (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Lucraft	715	39.1
	Liberal Democrats	Abdul Bashar	710	38.8
	Conservative	Ruth De Mierre*	704	38.5
	Conservative	Alastair McPherson	697	38.1
	Green	Allan Murray	375	20.5
	Labour	Nick Lashmar	372	20.4
Turnout			1,828	35.4
Registered electors			5,241
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

Haywards Heath North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sandy Ellis*	400	35.7
	Liberal Democrats	Emiliano Mancino	339	30.2
	Green	Richard Nicholson	168	15.0
	Labour	David Morley	167	14.9
	Independent	Christian Pitt	47	4.2
Majority			61	5.5
Turnout			1,121	40.6
Registered electors			2,791
	Conservative win (new seat)

Hurstpierpoint (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Bennett*	1,236	62.2
	Liberal Democrats	Rodney Jackson*	1,050	52.8
	Conservative	Mark Scholfield	471	23.7
	Conservative	Billy Lee	444	22.3
	Labour	Graciano Soares	328	16.5
	Green	Sue Kelly	315	15.8
Turnout			1,988	41.1
Registered electors			4,869
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

Lindfield (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne-Marie Cooke	1,141	44.5
	Liberal Democrats	Cavan Wood	1,020	39.8
	Conservative	Jonathan Ash-Edwards*	906	35.3
	Conservative	Anthea Lea*	855	33.3
	Green	David Woolley	450	17.5
	Green	Stu Nisbett	360	14.0
	Labour	Iain Maclean	225	8.8
Turnout			2,565	48.5
Registered electors			5,329
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Lindfield Rural & High Weald (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Paul Brown*	852	40.1
	Conservative	Lorraine Carvalho	851	40.1
	Conservative	Sarah Webster	821	38.7
	Liberal Democrats	Emily Lomax	567	26.7
	Green	Nigel Cross	519	24.4
	Labour	Mandy Claiden	305	14.4
Turnout			2,124	39.8
Registered electors			5,363
	Green win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)