| Uckfield Town Council | |
| House Type: | Town council |
| Leader1 Type: | Mayor |
| Leader1: | Councillor Jackie Love |
| Leader2 Type: | Deputy Mayor |
| Leader2: | Councillor Donna French |
| Members: | 15 |
| Political Groups1: | TRUST Independent (9) Labour Party (4) Liberal Democrats (1) Independent (1) |
| Last Election1: | 4 May 2023 |
| Next Election1: | May 2027 |
| Meeting Place: | Civic Centre, Bellfarm Ln, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1AE. |
Uckfield Town Council governs the five wards of Uckfield town. The council appoints one councillor who is then known as the Mayor of Uckfield. The current Mayor of Uckfield is Councillor Jackie Love.[1]
Uckfield Town Council comprises five wards – North, East, West, New Town, and Ridgewood – electing between two and four town councillors each.[2]
Clockwise, from the north, it borders the communities of Maresfield, Buxted, Framfield and Little Horsted.
| Group affiliation | Members | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| TRUST Independent | 9 | ||
| | 4 | ||
| 1 | |||
| Independent | 1 | ||
| Total | 15 | ||
Uckfield Town Council is composed of up to 15 councillors elected from five wards. The last elections were in 2023, and resulted in the election of 7 TRUST Independent councillors, 3 Labour councillors, 1 Liberal Democrat, and 1 Independent councillor.[3] 3 seats were left vacant and were filled by co-option at the first Full Council meeting.
The 2023 Uckfield Town Council elections were due to be held alongside the elections for Wealden District Council on 4 May 2023. However, all seats were uncontested, as 3 candidates were nominated for the 3 seats in Uckfield North ward and a further 3 candidates were nominated for the 3 seats in Uckfield East ward. Only 2 candidates for 3 seats were nominated in Uckfield Ridgewood ward, 3 candidates for 4 seats were nominated in Uckfield New Town ward and 1 candidate for the 2 seats in Uckfield West ward. At the first meeting of the new Town Council, Bernadette (Ben) Reed was co-opted as a Councillor for Ridgewood ward, Peter Ullman was co-opted as a Councillor for New Town ward, and Val Frost was co-opted for West ward, filling all 15 seats on the council.[4] Councillors Reed and Frost subsequently joined the Trust Independent group, whilst Peter Ullman joined the Labour group.
| Ward | Party | Town councillors elected 2023 | |
| North | Jackie Love | ||
| Daniel Manvell | |||
| Angie Smith | |||
| East | Michael McClafferty | ||
| Chris Macve | |||
| Donna French | |||
| New Town | Ben Cox | ||
| Spike Mayhew | |||
| Duncan Bennett | |||
| West | Diane Ward | ||
| Ridgewood | Karen Bedwell | ||
| Peter Selby | |||
The 2019 Uckfield Town Council elections were held alongside the elections for Wealden District Council on 2 May 2019 on new ward boundaries.[2] 9 seats were up for election, as only 2 candidates for 3 seats were nominated in Uckfield North ward and 2 candidates for 3 seats in Uckfield Ridgwood ward, with incumbent Councillor Keith Everett having submitted his nomination papers, but passing away before the close of nominations.[6] [7] At the first meeting of the new Town Council, Karen Bedwell was co-opted as a Councillor for Ridgewood ward and Colin Snelgrove co-opted as a Councillor for North ward, filling all 15 seats on the council.[8] Both Councillors Bedwell and Snelgrove subsequently joined the Trust Independent group. Diane Ward, who ran as an Independent councillor, also sits with the Trust Independent group.
| Ward | Party | Town councillors elected 2019 | |
| North | Jackie Love | ||
| Angie Smith | |||
| East | Paul Sparks | ||
| Chris Macve | |||
| Donna French | |||
| New Town | Helen Firth | ||
| Ben Cox | |||
| Spike Mayhew | |||
| Duncan Bennett | |||
| West | Diane Ward | ||
| Gary Johnson | |||
| Ridgewood | James Edwards | ||
| Jez Beesley | |||
| By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Result | Candidate | Reason | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgewood | 31 August 2017 | Jez Beesley | Resignation of Jacqueline Beckford [9] | ||||
| North | 12 July 2018 | Daniel Manvell | Resignation of James Anderson [10] | ||||
On the 5 July 2016 it was announced that Cllr Spike Mayhew & Cllr Jacqueline Beckford had resigned from the Liberal Democrats. It was reported that they would now be acting as Independent Councillors.[11]
| Date | Ward | Result | Candidate | Reason | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 July 2016 | New Town | Spike Mayhew | Change of party affiliation | ||||
| 5 July 2016 | Ridgewood | Jacqueline Beckford | Change of party affiliation | ||||
The 2015 Uckfield Town Council elections were held alongside the elections for Wealden District Council & the Wealden Parliamentary constituency on 7 May 2015. All 15 seats were up for election.[12]
| Ward | Party | Town councillors elected 2015 | |
| North | James Anderson | ||
| Louise Eastwood | |||
| Donna French | |||
| Jackie Love | |||
| Chris Macve | |||
| Paul Sparks | |||
| Central | Helen Firth | ||
| Paul Meakins | |||
| Diane Ward | |||
| New Town | Duncan Bennett | ||
| Mick Dean | |||
| Spike Mayhew | |||
| Ridgewood | Jacqueline Beckford | ||
| Keith Everett | |||
| Ian Smith | |||
| By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Result | Candidate | Reason | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | 27 June 2013 | Paul Sparks | Resignation of Duncan Bennett [13] | ||||
| Central | 26 June 2014 | Paul Meakins | Resignation of Brian Marsh [14] | ||||
In the 2011 elections, 7 seats were won by the Conservatives, 5 by the Liberal Democrats and 3 by independents.[15]
| Ward | Party | Town councillors elected 2011 | |
| North | Duncan Bennett | ||
| Sam Bryant | |||
| John Collins | |||
| Louise Eastwood | |||
| Thelma Rumbelow | |||
| Alan Whittaker | |||
| Central | John Carvey | ||
| Helen Firth | |||
| Brian Marsh | |||
| New Town | Sarah Hall | ||
| Jeremy Hallett | |||
| Jim Molesworth-Edwards | |||
| Ridgewood | Michael Harker | ||
| Marion Rowland | |||
| Ian Smith | |||
In the 2007 elections, 6 seats were won by Independent candidates, 6 by the Liberal Democrats and 3 by the Conservatives.[18]
| Ward | Party | Town councillors elected 2007 | |
| North | Leonard Ashby | ||
| Duncan Bennett | |||
| Louise Eastwood | |||
| Thelma Rumbelow | |||
| Dorothy Sparks | |||
| Alan Whittaker | |||
| Central | John Carvey | ||
| Helen Firth | |||
| Jim Molesworth-Edwards | |||
| New Town | Sarah Hall | ||
| Barrie Murray | |||
| Anne Parker | |||
| Ridgewood | Michael Harker | ||
| Ian Smith | |||
| Robert Sweetland | |||
| By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Result | Candidate | Reason | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | 16 September 2004 | John McGuckin | Unfilled [19] | ||||
| Ridgewood | 16 September 2004 | Michael Harker | Unfilled [20] | ||||
| New Town | 24 November 2005 | Sarah Hall | Unknown [21] [22] | ||||
In the 2003 elections, 5 seats were won by the Liberal Democrats, 3 by the Conservatives, 2 by Labour & 2 by Independent candidates. 2 seats were unfilled in Central Ward and 1 seat was unfilled in Ridgewood.[23]
| Ward | Party | Town councillors elected 2003 | |
| North | Leonard Ashby | ||
| Duncan Bennett | |||
| Louise Eastwood | |||
| Thelma Rumbelow | |||
| Dorothy Sparks | |||
| Alan Whittaker | |||
| Central | Richard Vanderpump | ||
| New Town | Libby Calton | ||
| Barrie Murray | |||
| Ian Nottage | |||
| Ridgewood | James Molesworth-Edwards | ||
| Anthony Parker | |||
| Year | Name | Party | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–24 | Jackie Love [24] | ||||
| 2018–21 | Spike Mayhew [25] | ||||
| 2015–18 | Louise Eastwood [26] [27] | ||||
| 2013–15 | Ian Smith [28] | ||||
| 2010–13 | John Carvey [29] | ||||
| 2009–10 | Leonard Ashby [30] | ||||
| 2006–09 | Louise Eastwood [31] | ||||
| 2001–06 | Barrie Murray [32] | ||||