NEW Green councillors vowed to create more affordable housing as the Tories held on to power on Lewes District Council.

For the first time in history Green councillors have been voted onto Lewes District Council. 

Susan Murray, Joanna Carter and Tony Rowell all believe they won seats mainly because residents bought into their pledge to fight for cheaper homes and social housing.

Susan Murray was the first to be elected, scooping the title in the Lewes Castle ward with 767 votes.

The 65-year-old of Clare Road, Lewes, said: “People are fed up with the way the district council works so I will call for openness and accountability. We need to make housing truly affordable and get more community-led development. I've been a town councillor for eight years and I know the ward really well.”

Joanna Carter, 35, was the second Green to be announced, winning one of two seats in Lewes Bridge with 677 votes.

The conservationist for Natural England, of North Street, Lewes, said: “This shows there is a real desire for a new voice.”

Ex-accountant Tony Rowell won one of three seats in Lewes Priory with 1,141 votes. 

The 60 year-old, of Middle Way, Lewes, said: “A living wage, getting more social housing. These things resonated here with people who want change. We have also benefitted from the Green surge we have seen nationally and in Sussex.”

The blue candidates celebrated their own victory by gaining two more seats than in the local authority's 2011 election. 

The Liberal Democrats held onto some seats but had a significant loss of seven councillors in areas like Newhaven Denton and Meeching and Seaford.

Sarah Osborne, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, gained the most votes to continue representing Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington and St John (without).

She said: “I'm bitterly disappointed for the residents of the Lewes district because I really fear the plans the Tories have. There will be potential cuts to services and selling off of council-owned assets. Some of the counts were very close so the result is unfortunate. Where we are elected we will do our best to represent and put up an effective opposition.”

The incumbent Conservative council leader Rob Blackman won in Seaford West with 1,252 votes - more than he gained in 2011 when he was picked to represent the town's east ward. 

He said: “It was quite nerve wracking to stand in a new ward as you have less chance of winning so I was really happy with the result. We were expecting to keep control. People were impressed with our track record and we have a clear plan for the future. We want to create a training hotel for young people run with the support of the university and colleges and we will change the way we collect waste.”

He said the Liberal Democrat losses were expected to be in line with national results but also said this was helped by a number of councillors stepping down. 

He added: “My door is always open to the new Green councillors and I hope we can work together.” 
Votes were cast on Thursday and stored securely until the count began on Saturday at the Downs Leisure Centre in Seaford and Lewes Leisure Centre. Town and parish council votes were also totted up. 

The make-up of the new Lewes District Council
Conservative: 24
Liberal Democrat: 11
Green: 3
Independent: 2
UKIP: 1

Lib Dems in shock at loss

LIBERAL Democrat councillors were devastated to learn MP Norman Baker had lost his Lewes seat.

Incumbent district councillor Peter Gardiner, who kept his seat in the Ouse Valley and Ringmer ward, said the ex-MP got “swept away in the national trend” when he lost to Conservative Maria Caulfield.

He said: “Our new MP will have a huge challenge living up to the standards that Norman set.

“He is a wonderful man. He worked hard, he understood the problems people were facing and he listened.”

Other group councillors said they had been inundated with messages of regret from constituents lamenting their choice in vote.

Candidate’s election relief after re-count

RETURNING Lewes District councillor Sarah Osborne demanded a re-count on her poll and good thing she did because a whole bundle of her votes had been put on the wrong pile.

After a swift redistribution, which revealed she was in fact the winner, her opponent, Conservative Nancy Bikson, also wanted the numbers checked.

The second count stood and Coun Osborne – who has been in post for eight years - won with a slim gain of 607 votes to Bikson’s 565. There was a turnout of 76.8% and 25 ballots were spoilt.

Coun Osborne continues to be the council’s leader of the Liberal Democrat group and hopes this will continue.

She added: “I’m happy and relieved. I won because people know I care and I have a record of action.”

She plans to tackle transport problems and bus cuts among other concerns.

High turnout out 'due to weather' or interest in politics?

TURNOUT was substantially high in most of the wards - with some seeing an increase on 2011 figures of around 20% - but council officials put this down to good weather.
Many felt higher numbers were a sign of a shift in society's perception to politics and an eagerness to bring about change but the council had other suggestions.
A spokeswoman said this was simply down to more people living in certain wards, the fact the vote was cast at the same time as a general election - unlike the 2011 local vote - and because the weather was so good on Thursday. 
The exception was Lewes Priory which has always had an active electorate which seizes the chance to vote and make its voice heard, knowing councillors claimed.
Returning independent councillor Ruth O'Keeffe came out top with 2,702 votes cast in her favour.
The councillor since 2003 said: “People are really interested in who they could have on the council. They are keen to discuss it.”
She admitted her shoes were worn for trudging up to every door in the ward and said she thought she won because she does not have policies but pledges to take on any local issue. 
A high number of rejected ballot papers - with some results in their hundreds - was also in proportion to the varying size of the wards and was nothing out of the ordinary, the council spokeswoman said.

Analysis - by Flora Thompson

WHAT a day for the Green Party. There was shock and delight as an historic announcement was made. Susan Murray, the first ever Green councillor to be elected onto Lewes District Council, was ecstatic – especially when she was joined by two more.

With Tony Rowell and Joanna Carter they now stand strong as opposing councillors and they all said they were ready to challenge the Conservatives – who maintained overall control.

To begin with it seemed a closely fought battle.

The Tories and Liberal Democrats were neck and neck until the handful of surprises mixed up the district’s previously more traditional political pattern.

At one point it looked like the Tories would not have enough councillors to win a majority, but they did.

It is worth remembering at the announcement of the 2011 election the Conservative Party had 22 seats, the Liberal Democrats 18 with one independent.

By the end of the term only 40 councillors were serving - 19 Conservative, 16 Liberal Democrats, three independent and two UKIP, which marked defections from other parties.

On Saturday the Liberal Democrats suffered a substantial loss just as yellow parliamentary glimmers of light were slowly extinguished across the country a day earlier.

This was not least felt in Lewes because of Norman Baker’s loss.

Similarly, with just one Ukip councillor elected, Nigel Farage’s plan to make his party a major game player in parliament and councils failed here.

It should be noted the district candidates were quietly racking up a fair amount of votes but the representatives simply did not do enough to win significantly this time around.

See the full rundown of parish, town and district council results by clicking here