Labour councillor speaks out after Arun District Council election success

Roger Nash, Labour councillor for Pevensey Ward, is celebrating with his colleagues after the party won eight seats in last week’s district council elections – up from one in 2019.

It was a landmark election for the party in several respects. Alongside the eightfold increase at the district council level, the party are also celebrating a 17 per cent increase in vote share, overall control of Littlehampton Town Council, and a Labour group of two on Bognor Regis Town Council for the first time in years.

"Back in 1998, we gained ten seats on the district council, but of course the Tories were still in control,” he said. “But this time we have 20 Tories and 34 non-Tories, so all I can say is watch this space.

"We were incredibly pleased with the result. Lots of hard work went into it, and, in Pevensey Ward, we went from fourth place in 2019 to first place.”

The success of the Labour party coincides with similar gains by the Green Party, who doubled their share of the council – going from three seats to six – and considerable losses in the Conservative Party, who lost their majority share of the council.

For Cllr Nash, the shift speaks to a broader dis-satisfaction with Tory rule. “What is working better than it was in 2010?” he asked. “The answer is nothing. The economy has been trashed, trade has been trashed, the environment has been trashed, and that’s the feeling of voters out there.”

Of course, Labour’s result in Arun District reflects the national picture, with the Conservative Party losing 1,060 seats in councils up and down the country. Mr Nash said this led to a sense of quiet optimism in the lead up to the election itself. “We thought we would do well,” he said. “But it exceeded what we thought we would get. We knew on the doorsteps that it would go well, though, because people are just so sick of what’s been going on.”

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