A year after the delayed election of 2021, the votes have been counted and the results are in for the 2022 local elections. The number of Hastings and St Leonards residents who voted was again disappointingly low at 35%.
With Hastings consistently in the top 10 for the most expensive council tax in the country it would be great to see more people engage with the local elections.
Over the past two years we have seen voters turn away from the Labour run council and this year the council fell out of the control of the Labour Party for the first time in 12 years. Last year saw big gains from local Conservatives but this year it was the turn of the Green Party, with three new councillors. The Conservative team stayed the same. Most notable were the defeats for the ex-Labour leader Kim Forward and the current Labour deputy mayor, Ruby Cox.
The council is now in ‘no overall control’, meaning no political party have a majority. Will we see a change of direction for Hastings Borough Council? I fear not. It is likely that Labour, who still have most councillors, will try to run a minority administration. The Green Party have a policy of not making their councillor vote along party lines (or the whip), so where their votes go will be uncertain.
I think the town has shouted loud enough over the last two elections to understand that people want change in Hastings. Residents I have spoken to would like to see a more open, transparent decision-making process, not dominated by any one political party.
The coming municipal year will see some extremely challenging decisions, especially around how the council runs its finances. A massive deficit is looming in the council budget which must be addressed as a priority.
The Green Party undoubtedly hold the balance of power now and I congratulate them for the successful election they fought. A vote either way from their group could be all it takes to pass or scupper any Labour council policies.
It was interesting to watch during the election how spiteful the campaign became, whereby the Labour group felt they were being targeted by Green campaigners. A late attack leaflet delivered by the Labour Party read, “Vote Green and get Tory”. It seems the Labour Party are offended if any other Party left of centre stands against them, many of them thinking the Greens shouldn’t even exist locally.
It will be fascinating to see over the coming months if the electorate see a change in the way Hastings Borough Council is run or whether it will be more of the same.
