Adur District Council elections 2024: what the parties say

The council will see 16 of its 29 seats contested in May 2 local elections, with the five main parties running being the Conservatives, Labour, Greens, Liberal Democrats, and independent group the Shoreham Beach Residents’ Association.

Two ungrouped independents will be running: former Conservative incumbent councillor Ann Bridges will be running in Widewater ward, and Stuart Bower in St Nicolas. One candidate for the Britain First – Housing For Locals party, David Bamber, is running in Cokeham ward.

Most wards in Adur are represented by two seats each on the council, except Widewater which is represented by three. Voting in Buckingham, Churchill, Cokeham, Eastbrook, Hillside, Manor, Marine, Mash Barn, Peverel, Southlands, Southwick Green and St Nicolas wards will be for one seat, while Widewater will see two councillors elected.

St Mary's ward will also elect two councillors this election, due to the stepping down of councillor Cat Arnold in March, causing a by-election to be held as part of the wider elections - so 16 instead of 15 seats will be contested.

Polls will open from 7am to 10pm on May 2, and people will need to take photo ID in order to vote.

The Conservatives: Adur Conservatives have controlled the council since 2000 under leader Neil Parkin (Con, Hillside), and currently hold 15, about half, of the seats on the council, a one-seat majority. Cllr Parkin said the Conservatives were mostly looking to retain control of the council and their eight seats in Buckingham, Churchill, Cokeham, Eastbrook, Hillside, Manor, Peverel and Widewater wards. He said they hoped to gain a seat in Mash Barn and take back the Widewater seat from now-independent Ann Bridges, as she was ejected from the Conservatives in February for not voting with the party during a budget meeting. Cllr Parkin said his party wanted to ‘keep doing the things we have been doing’ while in control of the council, noting award winning work in the Adur valley and the expansion in the number of public toilets in the district. Senior Conservative members up for re-election this year are council Chairman Joe Pannel in Widewater, cabinet member for communities and wellbeing Kevin Boram in Buckingham, and cabinet member for Adur Homes and customer services Carson Albury in Manor.

Labour: Adur’s Labour group, led by Jeremy Gardner (Lab, St Mary’s), currently controls eight seats on the council, seeing a large-scale presence in the district from 2016 onwards. Cllr Gardner said Labour’s goal in the district was ‘straightforward’: to take control of the council from the Conservatives. He did not say the party was targeting any seats in particular, stating any seat was up for grabs as there were ‘no safe wards’ for the Conservatives this election. Labour will be looking to defend its five seats up for re-election in Mash Barn, Southlands, Southwick Green and St Mary’s wards, with Cllr Gardner looking to defend his St Mary’s seat. Cllr Gardner said the party wanted to build a ‘fairer, greener Adur’ and a ‘council for the community’, promising, if elected, they would finish uncompleted flood defences in the district and would repair ‘neglected’ council homes. He said the party’s priorities for the district were tackling support for people during the cost of living crisis, anti-social behaviour, overdevelopment, and support for high street and local businesses

Greens: The Green Party in Adur, currently led by Gabe Crisp, hold two seats on the council, both in St Nicolas ward. Cllr Crisp said the Greens election hopes were to control enough seats to hold the balance of power in the district between the more numerous Conservative and Labour parties. She said council officers were preparing for five post-election scenarios, three of which would see a minority party with enough seats able to position itself as the deciding vote on issues within the council. She added the Greens were having discussions internally and with other parties to discuss how a potential post-election administration could look. Although Cllr Crisp did not list any specific seats the party would be targeting this election, the Greens will be looking to hold her seat as she will not be standing for re-election on May 2. Cllr Crisp said the Greens’ priorities for the district were ‘better water and better streets’, through more consultation with residents.

Shoreham Beach Residents’ Association: The association, led by Joss Loader, currently controls both seats in Marine ward and has been returning councillors there years since it was formed in the 1950s, according to Cllr Loader. Cllr Loader, who was first elected in 2016 and is now up for re-election again, said they hoped to wub her seat and continue the tradition of the association’s presence in the Shoreham Beach area. She said the party’s priorities included greater council control over new flats being built on the north side of the River Adur, refurbishment of Shoreham Beach’s Beach Green toilets, greater legal protection for Shoreham Beach and re-introducing beach patrols during summer months. She said the party would also prioritise ‘speeding up’ the proposals for a multi-use bike park in the Adur Recreation Ground in Shoreham.

Liberal Democrats: The Liberal Democrats currently hold no seats but controlled the council though parts of the 1980s and 90s, all the way up to 1999. The Liberal Democrats are contesting and targeting seven seats this election: in Buckingham, Cokeham, Manor, Marine, Southlands, Southwick Green and St Nicholas wards. Adur Liberal Democrats spokesperson Peter Bartram said should the Liberal Democrats win in Buckingham ward, their candidate there, Ian Jones, would lead the party in Adur. Mr Bartram said Adur was facing some of its ‘most critical decisions ever’ and that Adur District Council had not made the ‘right decisions’ to tackle housing, healthcare, the climate or school placements in the district. He said the Liberal Democrats were committed to using the ‘power and influence’ of the council more ‘wisely’ and effectively, saying the current council had failed to ‘listen’ to its residents.