East Sussex district and borough council leaders against proposals to suspend county elections

In a joint statement, the leaders said the East Sussex County Council leader Keith Glazier told them he is proposing to cancel the planned county council elections this May.

They said the move could be made so Sussex will be considered a priority area for devolution in the first step towards creating a new mayoral combined authority covering East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

East Sussex County Council confirmed that their cabinet would discuss at a meeting on Thursday, January 9, whether to submit a joint proposal with Brighton and Hove and West Sussex for devolution of powers across Sussex. They added that it is is for the Government to consider whether to postpone one election to help achieve its wider ambition.

The leaders of Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes and Wealden councils have written to the government against this proposal.

They said: “It is unacceptable that our residents, the voters, won’t decide who runs the county council – the body national government have deemed responsible for reorganisation. It must be up to our residents to decide who makes these changes to services. We support increased regional powers, particularly around public transport, climate action, skills, energy, and planning, but we do not agree with doing this at the expense of local democracy.

“We are not against devolution, but we all believe most strongly that the elections must go ahead and the plans for a new council overseen by councillors that local people vote for in May. This would then allow two years to ensure a new authority is shaped by consultation with residents, businesses and other key stakeholders. They must all have a full voice in this process.”

The district and borough council leaders said they have written to the Minister of State, Jim McMahon and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Baroness Taylor. The letter was signed by councillor Rachel Millward, leader of Wealden District Council; councillor Zoe Nicholson, leader of Lewes District Council; councillor Stephen Holt, leader of Eastbourne Borough Council; and councillor Julia Hilton, leader of Hastings Borough Council.

Lewes Green Party announced on Tuesday, January 7, that more than 50 protestors against the proposal would be outside County Hall in St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, on Thursday, January 9 (9.30am). The event starts before the 10am extraordinary full council meeting, called by Green Party opposition councillors.

An East Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “The Government’s White Paper on Devolution earlier this month asked local authorities to say how they would respond to the Government’s intention to devolve some powers to local areas with the formation of combined mayoral authorities. The government wants combined authorities to provide strategic leadership on issues including housing, growth and transport for areas of more than 1.5 million people.

“Cabinet has therefore been called to discuss these issues and decide whether to proceed with a proposal for devolution with a combined authority for Sussex, including an elected mayor. The full council will also meet on the same day, at the request of members. The cabinets of Brighton and Hove City Council and West Sussex County Council are also meeting on 9 January to consider the issues. If all three cabinets agree, the three councils will submit a collective proposal to Government for Sussex to be a priority area for devolution.

“One possible outcome of the application is that the Government opts to postpone the currently planned 2025 county council elections with a view to electing the mayor for a strategic authority in 2026 and then developing local government reorganisation. Our Cabinet will also consider how to respond to the Government’s request for proposals for unitary local government and whether to support moving away from the current two-tier arrangements for councils in East Sussex. There are no changes to local government or its services at this time.”