It was interesting to see details on the Parliament website TheyWorkForYou which just over a week ago claimed there were planned debates in the last two weeks including some Sussex MPs to contribute. However, the details have subsequently been removed from the website which is now only providing one item following the closure. The new Parliament will be opened on the 17th of July and the only listed document refers to “Commons: Main Chamber – State Opening of Parliament (provisional)”. This is now a focus on the creation of a new Government that will be approved by the voting outcome on the 4^th July. It will take a week and half from after the results and the new Prime Minister will be the person to open the first session of a new Parliament. Although we cannot currently know what is going to take place in Parliament it is interesting to consider the possible options for Sussex when it comes to the voting arrangements. There have been a number of changes that are not entirely related to the election.

The most significant change is the creation of a new area for voting area for any new MP within Sussex which is called “East Grinstead and Uckfield”. This change has been organised by Mims Davies who since 2019 replaced Nicholas Soames who retired from Mid Sussex. Back in 1997, sixteen locations were created as areas to be represented by MPs across Sussex. This recent new arrangement will make an additional area named as “East Grinstead and Uckfield”.

Currently there are five East Sussex MPs all of which are Conservatives and three Brighton and Hove MPs two of which are Labour and one Green Party MP, the only Green MP in the UK, all referenced as the region of East Sussex. The other eight MPs are all Conservatives that are referenced as West Sussex region. The Green MP Caroline Lucas representing Brighton Pavilion announced in June this year that she was standing down and is supporting Sian Berry to stand in this election. Caroline refers to Sian Berry “as a tireless politician and campaigner” for the same constituency. Caroline has expressed her confidence in Sian to make sure “nature has a voice and the next Government is held to account”.

This new “East Grinstead and Uckfield” location will combine parts of Mid Sussex in the West Sussex region that involved Mims Davies including the East Grinstead area, Lewes represented by Maria Caulfield in East Sussex and Uckfield parts of Wealden represented by Nus Ghani in East Sussex.

It is interesting to reflect that Lewes was established as a political location for since 1885 and there has been a Conservative in placefrom 1931 to 1997 when Norman Baker a Liberal Democrat won. It was in 2015 that Maria Caulfield beat Norman Baker with just over a thousand votes. The Liberal Democrat Party have arranged for James MacCleary, a local councillor in Newhaven, to stand for Lewes.

Kristy Adams is moving to represent the area previously represented by Mims Davis. Kristy was a conservative Mid Sussex District Councillor for Bolney ward. She is described on her website, ‘About Kristy Adams’. She explains “I’m Kristy Adams, the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Mid Sussex. Here you can find my news and campaigns, and I’m here to help you, so please feel free to get in touch.” and further describes herself, “local businesswoman who co-owns the family design business in the building industry, grew up and lives in the constituency, she attended Handcross Primary and Warden Park schools and was elected as a Mid Sussex District Councillor for Bolney’’.

Nus Ghani was the leader of Wealden from 2015 and she is now representing a newly named area of Sussex Weald. Although Nus has experienced significant wins for Wealden in previous elections it is noteworthy that the Liberal Democrat Party held a number of second votes for Wealden. The current Liberal Democrat trying for Sussex Weald is Danielle Newson a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Guilford.

The Liberal Democrats have also proposed Alison Bennett for the Mid Sussex constituency and she has published the following statement on her website “I am ambitious for Mid Sussex. It is a wonderful place to live, but there is so much scope to make it even better, by ensuring we have thriving high streets, decent housing that is genuinely affordable, and by looking after unique landscapes.” Also, Benedict Dempsey is proposing against to Mims Davies.

Clearly these current MP’s Nus, Maria and Mims have experienced a great deal of change since 2019 when Boris Johnson was the Conservative Prime Minister and then a six-week session from Liz Truss and now the twenty-month period of the current Rishi Sunak.

All of these four locations have the “Reform UK” party represented with Nathan Curtis proposed for the East Grinstead and Uckfield, Gary Johnson for Mid Sussex, Bernard Brown for Lewes and David Morgan for Sussex Weald. Lewes will not have an independent candidate but they have a “New Open Non-Political Organised Leadership”, Sussex Weald group has gained “SDP” with Stephen Gander but Mid Sussex has lost “Advance” and “Monster Raving Loony” for this year. The residents who live in these areas will be faced with the changes which may be disappointing, particularly if they are not able to vote for their previous MPs or the newly placed candidates that they would like to support.