England local elections 2023: South East voters to be polled on 1,304 seats

More than 1,000 council seats will be contested across the South East in local elections on 4 May.

A total of 1,304 seats across 35 local authorities are up for election.

Ballots are taking place in Kent, Surrey and East and West Sussex, including in the region's two unitary authorities, Medway and Brighton and Hove.

Medway's count will be overnight from the close of polls on 4 May, with all other councils counting on 5 May.

Kent

All 55 council seats in Medway are up for election, along with four new seats created by boundary changes. The unitary authority is currently held by the Conservatives with a majority of 11.

Across Kent 10 borough and district councils are also holding full elections. They are:

• Ashford

• Canterbury

• Dartford

• Dover

• Folkestone & Hythe

• Gravesham

• Sevenoaks

• Swale

• Thanet

• Tonbridge & Malling

All but two are currently Conservative controlled.

In Gravesham Labour hold 22 seats and the Conservatives 21, with one independent member.

Swale is run by a coalition of parties, with its leader from the Swale Independents Alliance group, deputy leader from the Independent Group and other cabinet positions filled by councillors from the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green parties.

The Conservatives run Ashford, Thanet and Folkestone and Hythe as minority administrations

Boundary changes mean the number of councillors in Gravesham is falling from 44 to 39, and in Tonbridge and Malling from 54 to 44.

Two Kent councils are electing a third of their members.

Maidstone, which is controlled by the Conservatives by a majority of one, has 18 seats on the ballot.

In Tunbridge Wells there are 16 seats up for grabs. The authority is run by the Borough Partnership, a coalition of Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Tunbridge Wells Alliance.

East Sussex

Brighton and Hove City Council, Sussex's only unitary authority, is holding a full election. The authority is currently controlled by the Green Party as a minority administration, with 20 Green councillors, 16 Labour, 11 Conservative and 7 independents.

Four East Sussex district and borough councils are holding elections for all their members. They are:

• Eastbourne

• Lewes

• Rother

• Wealden

The Conservatives, with 18 out of 41 seats, are the largest party in Lewes, but the council is controlled by an alliance of the Green, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties, along with an independent member.

The Liberal Democrats have an overall majority of 5 in Eastbourne.

The Conservatives are the largest party in Rother but only by two seats, with the authority run as a coalition between the Association of Independents, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.

The Conservatives control Wealden District Council by a majority of 11.

West Sussex

Four West Sussex councils are holding full elections in May:

• Arun

• Chichester

• Horsham

• Mid Sussex

Arun and Chichester are minority Conservative administrations, with the Tories five short of a majority in Arun and two short in Chichester.

The Tories have majorities in both Horsham and Mid Sussex. Boundary changes mean the number of seats being elected in Mid Sussex is dropping from 54 to 48.

Two are electing a third of their councillors - Crawley and Worthing.

In Crawley, where 12 seats are up, Labour go into the election with 19 seats, compared to the Conservatives' 16.

In Worthing, where 11 seats are on the line, Labour took control in the local elections of 2022, ending 18 years of Conservative rule.

Surrey

Councillors in six of Surrey's districts and boroughs face full elections. They are:

• Epsom and Ewell

• Spelthorne

• Surrey Heath

• Guildford

• Mole Valley

• Waverley

Epsom and Ewell is currently controlled by a Residents' Association alliance, holding 31 out of 37 seats, although the number is being reduced to 35 after this set of elections because of boundary changes.

The Conservatives are the largest party in Spelthorne, but at 15 councillors they go into the election five short of the number needed for a majority.

They are also the largest party in Surrey Heath, where they need one more seat to have an outright majority.

The Liberal Democrats control Mole Valley by a majority of seven.

In Waverley the Conservatives are the largest party by a single seat, but control of the authority lies with a coalition between the Liberal Democrats, Farnham Residents' Association, the Greens, Labour and independent councillors.

Guildford is also run by a coalition of Liberal Democrats and the Residents for Guildford and Villages Group.

Five Surrey authorities have elections for a third of their members:

• Elmbridge

• Reigate & Banstead

• Runnymede

• Tandridge

• Woking

The Conservatives control Reigate and Banstead, where 15 seats are being voted on, and Runnymede, where 14 seats will go to the polls.

In Woking the Liberal Democrats have a majority of one, and 10 seats are up for grabs.

Tandridge, with 14 seats to be decided, is run as a minority administration by the Independents and Oxted and Limpsfield Residents Group Alliance.

The Conservatives are the largest party in Elmbridge by two seats, but the authority is controlled by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats and several residents' groups, with the council leader a member of the Thames Ditton and Weston Green Residents' Association. A total of 16 seats in Elmbridge will be decided in May.

Voters will need to take an approved form of ID to the polling stations this year

This will be the first set of elections for which voters will be required to bring photo ID to polling stations.

Anyone who does not have any of the accepted forms of ID, such as a passport or driving licence, should apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.

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