The 2015 Rother District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

Background

At the last election in 2011 the Conservatives remained in control of the council with 27 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats took 5 seats, independents 4 seats and the Labour Party won 2 seats.^[2] By the time of the 2015 election three of the Conservative councillors for Bexhill had resigned from the Conservatives to sit as independents.^[3]^[4] Deirdre Williams and Paul Lendon left the party in July 2012 and then in May 2014 Joanne Gadd also became an independent councillor.^[3]^[4]

Election result

The Conservatives increased their majority on the council after winning 31 seats, up from 24 before the election.^[5] This came at the expense of the independents who were reduced in number from seven to four.^[5] The Liberal Democrats also dropped three seats to have two councillors, with the group leader Kevin Dixon defeated by 65 votes in Battle.^[5] The Labour group leader Sam Souster was also defeated in Rye, leaving the party with only one councillor.^[5]

Rother local election result 2015^[6]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	31	7	0	+7	81.6	48.8	39,720	-4.4%
Independent	4	0	3	-3	10.5	12.2	9,910	+3.8%
Liberal Democrats	2	0	3	-3	5.3	13.2	10,720	-7.8%
Labour	1	0	1	-1	2.6	15.2	12,340	-0.6%
UKIP	0	0	0	0	0	8.7	7,105	+8.7%
Green	0	0	0	0	0	1.9	1,556	+0.3%

Ward results

Battle Town (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kathryn Field	1,481
	Conservative	Martin Noakes	1,199
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Dixon	1,134
	Labour	Andrew Shepherd	469
Turnout			4,283	69.9	+21.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Bexhill Central (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joy Hughes	824
	Conservative	Abul Azad	735
	Labour	Paul Courtel	709
	Labour	Ruairi McCourt	603
	UKIP	Michael Phillips	558
	Independent	Paul Plim	355
	Independent	Mark Plews	347
	Liberal Democrats	John Tunbridge	226
	Independent	Andrew Crotty	79
Turnout			4,436	63.2	+25.5
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill Collington (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Tony Mansi	1,309
	Independent	Doug Oliver	1,220
	Conservative	Michael Ensor	973
	Conservative	Colin Darker	847
	UKIP	Alison Phillips	417
	Green	John Gray	282
	Labour	Kate Bird	280
Turnout			5,328	78.1	+20.6
	Independent hold		Swing
	Independent hold		Swing

Bexhill Kewhurst (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Kentfield	1,675
	Conservative	Martin Kenward	1,281
	UKIP	Lynne Hehir	957
	Labour	Yvonne Cleland	663
Turnout			4,576	71.1	+19.4
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill Old Town (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gillian Johnson	618
	Conservative	Jacqueline Potts	611
	UKIP	James Taylor	510
	Liberal Democrats	Vivienne Bond	383
	Labour	Roger McCarthy	367
	Liberal Democrats	Diane Smith	262
	Green	Linda Hills	229
	Independent	Saleh Uddin	222
	Independent	Sandy Melvin	219
Turnout			3,421	65.6	+22.9
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Bexhill Sackville (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Hollidge	742
	Conservative	Patrick Douart	709
	Independent	Deirdre Williams	680
	Independent	Yolanda Laybourne	626
	UKIP	Sheila Allen-Rodgers	563
	Labour	Paul Theaker	543
Turnout			3,863	64.6	+18.7
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill Sidley (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maurice Watson	702
	Conservative	Jimmy Carroll	694
	Conservative	Becky Bowley	644
	Labour	Alan Bearne	619
	UKIP	Barry Last	573
	Independent	Helen Bridger	304
	Independent	Keith Bridger	261
Turnout			3,797	57.1	+18.1
	Labour hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill St. Marks (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Stuart Earl	1,312
	Conservative	Thomas Graham	1,148
	Independent	Joanne Gadd	808
	Conservative	Brett Mclean	671
	UKIP	Andrew Ellis	608
	Labour	Timothy Fox	318
Turnout			4,865	74.0	+19.3
	Independent hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Bexhill St. Michaels (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Charles Clark	1,134
	Conservative	Simon Elford	789
	UKIP	Richard Corner	613
	Independent	Laura Fermor	499
	Labour	Conor Hill	410
Turnout			3,445	63.3	+20.8
	Independent hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill St. Stephens (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Carroll	914
	Conservative	Bridget George	884
	UKIP	Pat Lee	754
	Labour	Richard Sage	563
	Independent	Paul Lendon	535
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Martin-Royle	379
Turnout			4,029	66.9	+25.7
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Brede Valley (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carl Maynard	1,818
	Conservative	Jonathan Johnson	1,685
	Labour	Elaine Lee	455
	Labour	Cheryl Creaser	443
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Stone	428
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Wakeford	228
Turnout			5,057	74.2	+25.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Crowhurst^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gary Curtis	771	49.2	-2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Tracy Dixon	307	19.6	-17.5
	Labour	Brian Basham	260	16.6	+5.4
	UKIP	Tony Smith	228	14.6	+14.6
Majority			464	29.6	+15.0
Turnout			1,566	75.3	+22.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Darwell (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Emily Rowlinson	1,419
	Conservative	Eleanor Kirby-Green	1,213
	UKIP	Eddie Smith	574
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Varrall	564
	Green	Andrew Wedmore	510
	Labour	Christopher Husbands	347
Turnout			4,627	68.7	+20.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Eastern Rother (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sally-Ann Hart	1,441
	Conservative	Paul Osborne	1,392
	Labour	Nick Warren	705
	Labour	Paul Carey	694
	Liberal Democrats	Rachel Hills	332
Turnout			4,564	71.4	+21.6
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ewhurst and Sedlescombe^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Ganly	1,131	75.7	-1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Angus Gilloughley	363	24.3	+1.9
Majority			768	51.4	-3.8
Turnout			1,494	72.5	+20.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Marsham (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger Bird	1,421
	Conservative	Christopher Saint	1,271
	Labour	Bob Ball	718
	Labour	Johnathan Lee	679
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Greenup	308
	Liberal Democrats	Gill Stone	204
Turnout			4,601	77.5	+23.5
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rother Levels (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Mooney	1,566
	Conservative	Ian Jenkins	1,372
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Schlesinger	792
	UKIP	Ian Slora	750
Turnout			4,480	74.2	+22.8
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rye (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Ampthill	1,108
	Conservative	Gennette Stevens	1,019
	Labour	Sam Souster	886
	Labour	Ray Prewer	656
	Liberal Democrats	Sonia Holmes	377
Turnout			4,046	68.0	+17.8
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Salehurst (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Prochak	1,318
	Conservative	Graham Browne	1,184
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Hardy	1,063
	Conservative	Gaynor Gough	850
	Labour	Bob Collins	251
Turnout			4,666	72.9	+21.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ticehurst and Etchingham (2 seats)^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Elliston	1,560
	Conservative	Mary Barnes	1,541
	Liberal Democrats	George Hearn	571
	Green	Don Nicholls	535
Turnout			4,207	73.5	+23.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

By-elections between 2015 and 2019

Battle Town by-election

A by-election was held in Battle Town on 16 July 2015 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Martin Noakes due to ill health.^[7]^[8] The seat was gained for the Liberal Democrats by Kevin Dixon with a 409-vote majority over Conservative Hazel Sharman.^[8]

Battle Town by-election 16 July 2015^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Dixon	751	57.8	+10.8
	Conservative	Hazel Sharman	342	26.3	-11.8
	UKIP	Tony Smith	107	8.2	+8.2
	Labour	Timothy MacPherson	100	7.7	-7.2
Majority			409	31.5
Turnout			1,300	32.4	-37.5
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Collington by-election

A by-election was held in Collington on 27 October 2016 after the resignation of independent councillor Tony Mansi for health reasons.^[10] The seat was won by independent candidate Deirdre Earl-Williams.

Collington by-election 27 October 2016^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Deirdre Earl-Williams	818	60.0	+60.0
	Conservative	Andrew Burton	393	28.8	-1.0
	Labour	Sara Watson	87	6.4	-2.2
	UKIP	Michael Phillips	66	4.8	-8.0
Majority			425	31.2
Turnout			1,364
	Independent hold		Swing

Darwell by-election

A by-election was held in Darwell on 27 October 2016 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Emily Rowlinson.^[12] The seat was won by Conservative candidate John Barnes.

Darwell by-election 27 October 2016^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Barnes	359	43.5	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Varrall	259	31.4	+14.9
	Labour	Antonia Berelson	79	9.6	-0.6
	Green	Andrew Wedmore	69	8.4	-6.5
	UKIP	Edward Smith	60	7.3	-9.5
Majority			100	12.1
Turnout			826
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Marks by-election

A by-election was held in St Marks on 10 January 2019 after the death of independent councillor Stuart Earl.^[14] The seat was won by independent candidate Kathy Harmer.

St Marks by-election 10 January 2019^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Kathy Harmer	1,000	60.7	+60.7
	Conservative	Gino Forte	521	31.6	-2.3
	Labour	John Walker	79	4.8	-4.6
	UKIP	John Zipser	48	2.9	-15.1
Majority			479	29.1
Turnout			1,648
	Independent hold		Swing

References

^ "Local election results 2015 in full". The Guardian. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Second councillor quits Tory ranks". Bexhill-on-Sea Observer. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b "cllr was at odds with the "lack of democracy"". Bexhill-on-Sea Observer. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Local election - Blue is the colour for Rother". Rye & Battle Observer. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u "District Election". Rother District Council. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^ "RDC councillor quits weeks after election". Rye & Battle Observer. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Kevin Dixon wins Battle town by-election". Rye & Battle Observer. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
^ "Declaration of result of poll". Rother District Council. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
^ "Bexhill councillor resigns for health reasons". Sussex Express. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Collington Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^ "Meet the Darwell ward by-election candidates". Sussex Express. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Darwell Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^ "Funeral arrangements for much-loved Bexhill councillor, Stuart Earl". Sussex Express. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — St Marks Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2022.

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