DAVID TUTT, LEADER OF EBC: How the local elections pan out in England

To explain, there is not a standard method for electing councils in England.

Some councils elect by thirds, so a third of the council is elected each year for three years, for a four-year term of office.

In two-tier areas such as East Sussex, county council elections are held on the fourth year.

In Hastings, half of the council is elected every two years.

Here in Eastbourne, as in Lewes, the whole borough council is elected once every four years, with our next elections taking place in May 2023.

Turning to the results of the elections that did take place, I am obviously delighted to see Liberal Democrat colleagues gaining a total of 191 seats in England and 221 across the UK as a whole.

Whilst I suspect that national issues had some impact upon these results, I also believe that they were largely down to the work that Liberal Democrats do in local areas.

Eastbourne Borough Council and Sussex Police have recently opened a small satellite office along Eastbourne seafront, on the promenade just to the east of the Pier.

Although not staffed around the clock, officers will use this office as a base when carrying out patrols along the seafront and be present on an ad hoc basis to observe activities in this busy area and ensuring a safe environment for everyone to enjoy our seafront.

I am delighted that Plastic Free Eastbourne, which is working so hard to eradicate plastic in our seas and oceans are running the Springwater Festival – Celebrating Water from May 13-22.

With a wide range of activities including walks; a beach clean; pilgrimages; art exhibitions; a concert; a conference; science studies; studios on the beach and water sports, there is plenty to get involved in.

For more information and tickets, visit https://www.plasticfreeeastbourne.co.uk or phone 07971 909 454.

Please do get involved.

Stay safe!