4pm: The Rye Town Council results have now been announced. All 16 seats have been filled and the one candidate not elected was Sue Learoyd-Smith (Labour)
It was expected that the Conservative party would suffer in the District Council elections, and generally in the South East they have – although perhaps not quite as much as some had anticipated. However voter rejection was not confined to the Conservatives, Labour, too have little cause for unalloyed joy. Starting from a low base in many areas they might have expected a field day, but, although gains have certainly been made, this has not happened.
Instead we have seen a resurgence of the Liberal Democrats and, more interestingly, of Independents.
In Rother, with 37 councilors there were, in the previous administration, 30 Conservatives, 2 Liberal Democrats and 5 Independents. There were no Labour councillors.
6.40pm: Rye and Winchelsea results announced
Gennette Stevens  Conservative  538
Howard Norton  Liberal Democrat  453
The full results for all Rye and Winchelsea candidates are here.
The full results for all Rye Town Council candidates are here.
Results for Eastern Rother are here.
Results for Brede and Udimore are here.
The Conservative control of Rother has now been lost with their number of seats halved. The Liberal Democrats now have 5, Labour have gained 3 and the Greens 1. The biggest upset, however, has been caused by Independent candidates who scooped 13 seats.
Image Credits: Rye News library .
Liberal Democrats have seven not five. So Rother’s hung. Will the 14 Conservatives try to keep control? They are six short of a majority. Who could they look to for support? The 7 LibDems? Not likely they’ve been there at Westminster and wont make that mistake again. Nor can they expect any help from Labour or the sole Green. So the 13 Independents have a dilemma. Their campaign material was very critical of the administration. They swept the board in Bexhill. Their strongest issue seems to be getting a Town Council for Bexhill. The Conservatives have consistently resisted that. The Independents now have the means of achieving a Town Council, with help from the LibDems and maybe the new Green councillor. Is that sufficient to form some kind of coalition to run the council? Should be an interesting fortnight before RRDC meets to elect a new chairman, and for the leader to emerge!