Second resignation leaves Wealden coalition without majority

On Friday (May 24), Crowborough South East’s Andrew Wilson announced his immediate resignation as a Liberal Democrat — a little over a week after Hailsham Central’s Neil Cleaver, now a Conservative, did the same.

Wealden District Council has been in no overall control since its last round of local elections in May 2023. Since then, the authority has been run by a Green/Lib Dem coalition — styled as the Alliance for Wealden.

Until last week, the two parties collectively held 24 out of 45 council seats. The two resignations means the Alliance now only holds 22 council seats, one short of an overall majority.

In a resignation letter seen by the LDRS, Cllr Wilson — like Cllr Cleaver — criticised the Green Party’s ‘influence’ in the Alliance.

In his letter, Cllr Wilson said: “Under the current leadership, the Alliance has rapidly descended into a mere conduit for Green Party policies, stifling genuine policy debate, and eroding public trust.”

Cllr Wilson’s letter goes on to allege that he had come under pressure to withdraw as nominee for chairman of the council’s Planning Committee North and to agree to ‘silence’ on a number of issues.

He also criticised the leadership’s approach, pointing to his own experiences as chairman of the Audit, Finance and Governance Committee.

He said: “I have witnessed first hand the degradation [and] side lining of our committee, with its recommendations routinely disregarded. A glaring example of this disregard is the recent unilateral imposition of punitive taxes on residents owning second homes or vacant properties without any scrutiny by the relevant committee. This blatant disregard for the oversight function of the committee epitomises a broader failure to uphold principles of transparency and accountability, rendering our roles redundant and our decisions predetermined.

“Moreover, the Alliance’s relentless pursuit of a left-wing policy agenda, at the expense of political inclusivity and practical governance, is a disservice to our community. Scarce resources (taxpayers’ money) are being squandered on initiatives far beyond the council’s statutory obligations, betraying our fiduciary duty to taxpayers and undermining the delivery of essential services.

“The Alliance’s ideologically-driven housing policy poses a direct threat to the council’s financial stability, prioritising unrealistic objectives over the wellbeing of our community. Such fiscal recklessness cannot be justified when our primary obligation is to provide value-for-money statutory services.”

He added: “I look forward to representing residents’ interests unmolested by the ideological straight jacket that pervades the current administration. You can rest assured that challenge in the future will be robust in the face of decisions that contradict the interests of Wealden and those of the people of Crowborough South East.”

The resignations mean both the Lib Dems and Greens now each have 11 councillors. The rest of the council is made up of 10 Conservatives, 10 Independents (including the four-member Independent Democrat group) and two Labour councillors. This list does not include Cllr Wilson, who has not yet indicated whether he will join another political group.