title: Rother District Council elections
text: # Rother District Council elections
  
  Rother District Council is the local authority for Rother District in East Sussex, England. The council is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 38 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors.
  
  ## Council elections
  
  Summary of the council composition after recent council elections, click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 2003 election reducing the number of seats by 7.
  
  * 1973 Rother District Council election
  * 1976 Rother District Council election
  * 1979 Rother District Council election
  * 1983 Rother District Council election (New ward boundaries)
  * 1987 Rother District Council election
  
  | Year | Conservative | Independent | Liberal Democrats | Labour | Green | Vacant | Notes |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1991 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
  | 1995 | 14 | 5 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same |
  | 1999 | 28 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
  | 2003 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | New ward boundaries |
  | 2007 | 28 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
  | 2011 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
  | 2015 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
  | 2019 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
  
  * 2023 Rother District Council election
  
  ## District result maps
  
  * 2003 results map
  * 2007 results map
  * 2011 results map
  * 2015 results map
  
  ## By-election results
  
  By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections; full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.
  
  | By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Bexhill Central | 19 September 1996 | Liberal Democrats | Conservative |
  | Beckley and Peasmarsh | 27 February 1997 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Central | 25 September 1997 | Liberal Democrats | Conservative |
  | Bexhill Central by-election | 7 June 2001 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Bexhill St Mark's by-election | 7 June 2001 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Fairlight by-election | 1 November 2001 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Old Town by-election | 17 October 2002 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
  | Bexhill Sackville by-election | 9 September 2004 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Bexhill St Stephens by-election | 29 September 2005 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Ticehurst and Etchingham by-election | 17 November 2005 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Bexhill Kewhurst by-election | 4 May 2006 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Bexhill Sackville by-election | 4 May 2006 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Bexhill St Marks by-election | 4 May 2006 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Bexhill Collington by-election | 12 June 2008 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Bexhill Sackville by-election | 3 July 2008 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Darwell by-election | 31 July 2014 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | Battle Town by-election | 16 July 2015 | Conservative | Liberal Democrats |
  | Collington by-election | 27 October 2016 | Independent | Independent |
  | Darwell by-election | 27 October 2016 | Conservative | Conservative |
  | St Marks by-election | 10 January 2019 | Independent | Independent |
  | Eastern Rother by-election | 6 May 2021 | Conservative | Conservative |
  