Wealden District Council in East Sussex, England is elected every four years. From 2003 until the election in 2019, 55 councillors were elected from 35 wards. From 2019, 45 councillors have been elected from 41 wards.[1]
Since the first election to the council in 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[2]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1973–1995 | ||
| 1995–1997 | ||
| 1997–2023 | ||
| 2023-present | ||
The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:[3]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rupert Thornely-Taylor | 18 Jul 2001 | 4 May 2003 | ||
| Nigel Coltman | 21 May 2003 | 6 May 2007 | ||
| Pam Doodes | 23 May 2007 | 19 May 2010 | ||
| Bob Standley | 19 May 2010 | 18 May 2022 | ||
| Ann Newton | 18 May 2022 | 18 May 2023 | ||
| James Partridge | 18 May 2023 | Present | ||
Summary of the results of recent council elections, click on the year for full details of each election.
| Year | Conservative | Independent | Liberal Democrats | Green | Labour | Notes | |||||
| 1991[5] | 44 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 1995[6] | 29 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 0 | District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same[7] [8] | |||||
| 1999[9] | 34 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2003[10] | 34 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 0 | New ward boundaries[11] | |||||
| 2007[12] | 34 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 0 | Some new ward boundaries[13] | |||||
| 2011 | 47 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2015 | 49 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2019 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | New ward boundaries, with the number of seats reduced to 45[14] | |||||
| 2023 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 2 | ||||||
By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections;[15] full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.
| By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pevensey Weston | 28 November 1996 | ||||
| Wadhurst | 4 September 1997 | ||||
| Buxted | 28 September 1997 | ||||
| Pevensey Westham | 28 September 1997 | ||||
| Herstmonceux | 2 April 1998 | ||||
| Polegate South | 28 May 1998 | ||||
| Heathfield by-election | 7 June 2001 | ||||
| Uckfield by-election (2) | 29 November 2001 | ||||
| Herstmonceux by-election | 4 April 2002 | ||||
| Uckfield by-election | 27 June 2002 | ||||
| Uckfield Ridgewood by-election | 16 September 2004 | ||||
| Pevensey and Westham by-election | 29 September 2005 | ||||
| Crowborough North by-election | 6 April 2006 | ||||
| Uckfield New Town by-election | 29 June 2006 | ||||
| Uckfield New Town by-election | 17 July 2008 | ||||
| Alfriston by-election | 25 September 2008 | ||||
| Heathfield North and Central by-election | 23 September 2010 | ||||
| Polegate North by-election | 2 August 2012 | ||||
| Heathfield North and Central by-election | 29 November 2012 | ||||
| Crowborough West by-election | 22 January 2015 | ||||
| Hellingly by-election | 29 October 2015 | ||||
| Crowborough East by-election | 21 January 2016 | ||||
| Chiddingly and East Hoathly by-election | 20 July 2017 | ||||
| Hailsham North by-election | 6 May 2021 | ||||
| Hailsham South by-election | 6 May 2021 | ||||
| Heathfield North by-election | 6 May 2021 | ||||
| Heathfield South by-election | 6 May 2021 | ||||
| Hartfield by-election | 2 December 2021 | ||||
| Hailsham South by-election | 10 February 2022 | ||||
| Maresfield by-election | 22 September 2022 | ||||