Hastings Borough Council

History

Hastings was an ancient borough. It was given the right to appoint a mayor in 1589. It was reformed in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to become a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Hastings", generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 it was decided that Hastings was sufficiently large for its existing council to provide county-level services and so Hastings was made a county borough, independent from East Sussex County Council.

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the borough became a non-metropolitan district within the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, giving East Sussex County Council jurisdiction over the town as a higher-tier authority for the first time. Hastings kept its borough status, allowing the council to take the name Hastings Borough Council and letting the chair of the council take the title of mayor, continuing Hastings' series of mayors dating back to 1589.

Governance

Hastings Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by East Sussex County Council. There are no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2022 election. A Labour and Green coalition formed after that election, but separated five months later in October 2022, after which Labour ran the council as a minority administration.

In December 2023, six Labour councillors — including the Leader and Deputy Leader — resigned the party in protest at Keir Starmer's leadership and formed a new group, the Hastings Independents. Over the following week, they were joined by two more Labour councillors. The group has criticised the national party's 'micromanaging' of local elections, and its position on the Gaza war. In January 2024 a new administration comprising the Greens and the former Labour councillors took over the council, led by Green councillor Julia Hilton.

Following the 2024 election a Green Party minority administration was formed.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Hastings. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2001 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:

The six independent councillors (all of whom were originally elected as Labour before leaving the party) sit together as the "Hastings Independent Group". The next election is due in 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2018 the council has comprised 32 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing two councillors. Elections are held in alternate years, with half the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term of office.

Premises

The council is based at a modern office building called Muriel Matters House on Breeds Place, overlooking the seafront.

The council was previously based at the Town Hall on Queens Road, which had been built in 1881. The council met and had its offices in the Town Hall until 2012. Most of the council's offices then moved to Aquila House on Breeds Place, which the council initially rented. In 2016 the council purchased Aquila House, renamed it Muriel Matters House after Muriel Matters (1877–1969) who had lived in the town, and created a new council chamber in the building.

References

References

1. (21 November 2024). "Three East Sussex councils to share chief officer". BBC News.
2. (1835). "Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 2".
3. "Relationships and changes Hastings CB/MB through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
4. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
5. "Hastings Borough Council". [[The National Archives (United Kingdom).
6. "District Councils and Boroughs, 28 March 1974".
7. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
8. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
9. (21 October 2022). "Labour has new cabinet at Hastings Borough Council after split with Greens". Sussex World.
10. (15 December 2023). "Hastings Borough Council: Leader and five other councillors quit Labour". [[BBC News Online]].
11. (16 December 2023). "Seventh Hastings councillor quits Labour to join new group". [[BBC News Online]].
12. Oxburgh, Hugh. (19 December 2023). "Hastings Borough Council: Eighth councillor quits local Labour group". [[BBC News Online]].
13. Dillon, Rick. (2024-02-27). "Chaos in Hastings after surprise Labour split".
14. "Labour Cabinet defections rock HBC – more likely to follow".
15. (17 January 2024). "Hastings council elects new leader Julia Hilton". BBC News.
16. (5 June 2024). "Green takeover, independents frozen out". Hastings Independent.
17. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
18. (19 April 2008). "Hastings". [[BBC News Online]].
19. (28 November 2019). "Memories of Jeremy Birch".
20. "Council minutes, 17 May 2006".
21. "Council minutes, 19 May 2010".
22. "Council minutes, 20 May 2015".
23. (30 January 2020). "'It's a good time to let someone else take over' says Chowney, who warns about viability of local government". Hastings in Focus.
24. "Council minutes, 18 March 2020".
25. "Council minutes, 13 April 2022".
26. "Council minutes, 17 January 2024".
27. (13 May 2025). "Hastings Borough Council Leader: This will be by last column as Leader". Sussex World.
28. (15 May 2025). "Historic milestone for Hastings as Becca Horn announced first Green mayor". Sussex Living.
29. "Hastings". Thorncliffe.
30. "My councillors by political grouping".
31. "Election timetable in England". UK Government.
32. {{cite legislation UK. (2016)
33. "Council office locations". Hastings Borough Council.
34. {{NHLE
35. "Council summons, 18 April 2012".
36. "Hastings council agrees to buy its seafront home". SussexWorld.
37. (30 December 2016). "Council offices renamed after suffragist". Sussex World.