Worthing Labour Group elects new leader and deputy following local elections

This comes after Labour lost overall control of Worthing Borough Council.

No single party has enough seats to have majority responsibility.

On Wednesday night (May 13), the Worthing Labour Group elected Caroline Baxter as leader and John Turley as deputy leader.

Sophie Cox chose not to seek re-election as group leader, after serving as leader of the council and Labour group for the last two years.

Councillor Baxter will be officially appointed at the annual council meeting on Tuesday, May 19.

She said: “I’m grateful to colleagues for placing their trust in me and I look forward to continuing to work alongside our Labour Group and colleagues across the council in the weeks ahead.

“Worthing is a fantastic place to live, and I am committed to working hard with colleagues to support local residents and communities during this important period of change for local government.”

Following the local elections on May 7, Labour remains the largest political group on Worthing Borough Council.

However – of the 13 seats being contested in the elections – six Green candidates were elected along with five Reform UK candidates, one Labour and one Liberal Democrat.

The results mean that the council is now made up of 15 Labour members, eight Greens, six Conservatives, five Reform UK members, two Worthing Community Independents and one Liberal Democrat. To see the full ward-by-ward results, visit: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/politics/council/worthing-borough-council-election-results-labour-loses-overall-control-8514762

A council spokesperson said: “To have majority control of the council, one party must have at least 19 elected members. Representatives of the parties on the council will instead discuss between them whether two or more groups could work together in a coalition or an informal arrangement to run Worthing.

“The council will provide updates on this process over the coming days. The full council will meet on Tuesday 19th May to elect a new leader of Worthing and a new mayor of the borough.”

Over the coming days, the Labour Group ‘will continue discussions’ with colleagues across the council, ‘regarding leadership arrangements for the year ahead’.

A spokesperson added: “Cllr Baxter is an experienced councillor, having served at parish, borough and county level, and currently represents Central Ward on Worthing Borough Council.”

The Labour Group said its focus would ‘remain on delivering for residents’, and supporting the council ‘through an important period of change for local government’.

The group thanked Sophie Cox and Rita Garner for their ‘leadership over the past two years’. It also thanked all outgoing councillors for their ‘hard work, compassion and commitment to their communities’, as well as ‘activists and residents for their support during the recent election campaign’.