Alison Bennett's Monday Mail: Stand and Deliver

Stand and deliver

Standing for election is a big deal. You are putting yourself out there. Tying your name to a cause, and taking the slings and arrows that may get thrown at you. The local elections are over, and the results are confirmed. Regardless of who you stood for, from Reform to the Pirate Party, we should all be grateful to the 362 people who were prepared to put their name on a West Sussex County Council ballot paper. Without it our democracy would not exist.

The result that was delivered in Mid Sussex could not have been achieved without a wonderful slate of Liberal Democrat candidates. They put their all into supporting each other, and the results were impressive. Of the twelve ‘divisions’ across the district of Mid Sussex, we won eight of them. The remaining four were split 50:50 between the Conservatives and Reform. Every county council seat in the constituency of Mid Sussex returned a Lib Dem. An honourable mention should also go to Lyn Williams who held my old district council seat in the Hurstpierpoint Ward by-election. 

Across West Sussex, the three constituencies that have Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament secured 23 county councillors on West Sussex County Council. Reform matched us with 23 seats. This has put the council into No Overall Control with no one party having a majority. As I type I do not know what will happen next, but with elections to the new shadow unitary authorities 51 weeks away, it is vital that regardless of political party, councillors work together for the good of the residents that they represent.

The national political picture is one of fragmentation. Even here we can see the breakdown of two party politics. Whilst Mid Sussex constituency elected just Liberal Democrat county councilors, the Westminster seat of East Grinstead and Uckfield elected county councillors from four national parties: the Conservatives, Reform UK, Liberal Democrats and the Greens. It shows that the old certainties of British politics are disappearing fast, showing that many people clearly feel let down by the two parties who have dominated Westminster for decades.

In moments like this, there is a real responsibility on the Liberal Democrats to offer something constructive: serious local leadership, respect for communities, and a belief that compromise is not weakness but how democracy is supposed to work. In a council with no overall control, that approach matters more than ever.

Getting in touch

My parliamentary email address is: alison.bennett.mp@parliament.uk. If you need my help, please get in touch.

Best wishes,
Alison

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