Tunbridge Wells Council - Wards and Councillors

District council · South East · 39 seats in 14 wards · A third of seats elected in three years out of four · Next election 6 May 2027

Liberal Democrats have a majority on Tunbridge Wells Council. The council has 39 councillors in 14 wards. Seats by party: Lib Dem 26, Conservative 7, Other 3, Labour 3. The next election is on 6 May 2027.

A government plan to replace the councils in this area with four unitary councils was paused for review on 7 September 2026. Elections due in May 2027 will go ahead on existing council boundaries. Source

Control

Seats by party

Liberal Democrats (Majority)

39 seats - 20 for a majority

Labour 3Conservative 7Lib Dem 26Other 3

Vote share at the 7 May 2026 election (15 seats in 13 wards)

ShareSeats won

Lib Dem37.1%11

Conservative23.9%2

Reform20.8%0

Green8.9%0

Other6.7%2

Labour2.7%0

2026 election results for Tunbridge Wells, ward by ward

Next election

6 May 2027

13 of 39 seats up, elected by thirds

Largest party

Lib Dem 26

majority of 13; 20 needed

Closest result

Pembury & Capel

Independents for Tunbridge Wells won by 18 votes over Lib Dem, 7 May 2026

Latest by-election

Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden

Lib Dem gain from Local party, 23 September 2026 (5 since 2021)

Constituencies

2 overlap

2024Now

Voted Leave in 2016

45%

GB 52%

Wards

Who holds each ward

LabourConservativeLib Dem

Coloured by the party holding most of the ward's seats today; where seats are split evenly, by the party with the higher share at the last election.

All 14 wards

Councillors and last results

Select a ward for its full results, candidates and last by-election.

Ward and councillors	Last election
Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden Andy Fairweather, Alexander Ellison, Harry Wormington	7 May 2026 Conservative 46.2% lead 20.8 pts
Culverden Justine Rutland, David Osborne, Martin Brice	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 49.5% lead 25.3 pts
Hawkhurst, Sandhurst & Benenden Beverley Palmer, Tom Dawlings, Ellen Neville	7 May 2026 Tunbridge Wells Alliance 31.7% lead 1.7 pts
High Brooms Dianne Hill	2 May 2024 Labour 55.9% lead 38.9 pts
Paddock Wood Mark Munday, Christopher Digby, Don Kent	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 39.4% lead 10.3 pts
Pantiles Jamie Johnson, Pamela Wilkinson, Christopher Hall	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 41.0% lead 10.4 pts
Park Corinna Keefe, Matt Lowe, Richard Brown	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 48.2% lead 31.6 pts
Pembury & Capel Hugh Patterson, Astra Birch, David Hayward	7 May 2026 Independents for Tunbridge Wells 29.7% lead 0.5 pts
Rural Tunbridge Wells Lynne Darrah, David Knight, Thomas Mobbs	7 May 2026 Conservative 37.4% lead 8.7 pts
Rusthall & Speldhurst Ian Standing, Matthew Sankey, Jayne Sharratt	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 34.1% lead 13.6 pts
Sherwood Courtney Souper, Andrew Wallace, Hugo Pound	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 33.7% lead 10.1 pts
Southborough & Bidborough Mark Ellis, Kimberley Johnson, Ash Shukla	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 46.4% lead 25.8 pts
St James' Ben Chapelard, Gavin Barrass, Rob Wormington	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 57.7% lead 43.4 pts
St John's Simon Davidson, Ukonu Obasi	7 May 2026 Lib Dem 55.5% lead 40.0 pts

Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden

Alexander Ellison ConservativeAndy Fairweather ConservativeHarry Wormington Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Conservative46.2%

Reform25.4%

Lib Dem14.5%

Green13.9%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Alexander Ellison Elected	Conservative	1,227	46.2%
Matthew Beattie	Reform	674	25.4%
Vivian Widgery	Lib Dem	384	14.5%
Paul Jeremy Keith Froome	Green	370	13.9%

Last by-election, 23 September 2026

Lib Dem37.4%

Conservative31.6%

Reform21.0%

Green10.0%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Harry James Wormington Elected	Lib Dem	697	37.4%
Nicholas Lees	Conservative	590	31.6%
David Somers	Reform	392	21.0%
Max Lawson Chesters	Green	186	10.0%

Culverden

David Osborne Lib DemJustine Rutland Lib DemMartin Brice Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Lib Dem49.5%

Conservative24.2%

Reform14.3%

Green8.1%

Labour3.0%

Independent1.0%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
David Osborne Elected	Lib Dem	1,402	49.5%
Alex Dunn	Conservative	685	24.2%
Tina Seymour	Reform	406	14.3%
Mark McBennett	Green	230	8.1%
Aleksander Klimanski	Labour	85	3.0%
Ahsan Azam Ahmad	Independent	27	1.0%

Hawkhurst, Sandhurst & Benenden

Beverley Palmer ConservativeEllen Neville Tunbridge Wells AllianceTom Dawlings Conservative

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Tunbridge Wells Alliance31.7%

Conservative30.0%

Reform25.8%

Lib Dem12.5%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Ellen Neville Elected	Tunbridge Wells Alliance	943	31.7%
Rosanna Taylor-Smith	Conservative	894	30.0%
John Spence	Reform	767	25.8%
Michael Edward Appelbe	Lib Dem	373	12.5%

High Brooms

Dianne Hill Labour

Last scheduled election, 2 May 2024

Labour55.9%

Lib Dem17.0%

Conservative10.7%

Reform8.0%

Green6.2%

Independents for Tunbridge Wells2.2%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Dianne Hill Elected	Labour	427	55.9%
Steve Humphreys	Lib Dem	130	17.0%
Freddie Mobbs	Conservative	82	10.7%
Rick Williams	Reform	61	8.0%
Paul Jeremy Keith Froome	Green	47	6.2%
David James Kain	Independents for Tunbridge Wells	17	2.2%

Paddock Wood

Christopher Digby Lib DemDon Kent Lib DemMark Munday Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Lib Dem39.4%

Reform29.1%

Conservative24.7%

Green6.8%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Christopher Digby Elected	Lib Dem	1,195	39.4%
Begnat Robichaud	Reform	882	29.1%
Lynne Scott	Conservative	749	24.7%
Trevor Tyrone Bisdee	Green	207	6.8%

Pantiles

Christopher Hall Lib DemJamie Johnson Lib DemPamela Wilkinson Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Lib Dem41.0%

Conservative30.6%

Reform17.5%

Green7.6%

Labour3.3%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Pamela Jean Wilkinson Elected	Lib Dem	1,246	41.0%
Daniel Dzenkowski	Conservative	931	30.6%
Kristof Niewolski	Reform	531	17.5%
Joe Mattei	Green	232	7.6%
Dominic Nutland Frankel	Labour	100	3.3%

Park

Corinna Keefe Lib DemMatt Lowe Lib DemRichard Brown Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Lib Dem48.2%

Reform16.6%

Conservative15.8%

Tunbridge Wells Alliance8.5%

Green8.0%

Labour2.9%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Richard William James Brown Elected	Lib Dem	1,515	48.2%
Michael Jerrom	Reform	523	16.6%
David Scott	Conservative	497	15.8%
Nick Pope	Tunbridge Wells Alliance	268	8.5%
Alasdair James Milner Fraser	Green	250	8.0%
Stephen Burgess	Labour	91	2.9%

Last by-election, 1 May 2025

Lib Dem38.4%

Conservative17.7%

Tunbridge Wells Alliance16.4%

Reform16.0%

Green7.1%

Labour4.3%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Richard William James Brown Elected	Lib Dem	973	38.4%
Sedat Zorba	Conservative	448	17.7%
Nick Pope	Tunbridge Wells Alliance	416	16.4%
John Spence	Reform	405	16.0%
Jeremy Audsley Clapham	Green	179	7.1%
Kate McAlpine	Labour	110	4.3%

Pembury & Capel

Astra Birch Lib DemDavid Hayward Independents for Tunbridge WellsHugh Patterson Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Independents for Tunbridge Wells29.7%

Lib Dem29.2%

Reform21.0%

Conservative14.8%

Green5.3%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
David Hayward Elected	Independents for Tunbridge Wells	934	29.7%
Nick Slessor-Pavely	Lib Dem	916	29.2%
Val Dachille	Reform	659	21.0%
Andrew Hobart	Conservative	466	14.8%
Sue Lovell	Green	167	5.3%

Rural Tunbridge Wells

David Knight ConservativeLynne Darrah ConservativeThomas Mobbs Conservative

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Conservative37.4%

Lib Dem28.7%

Reform25.1%

Green7.0%

Labour1.9%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
David Knight Elected	Conservative	1,474	37.4%
Susan Hindle Barone	Lib Dem	1,131	28.7%
Dennis Deane	Reform	987	25.1%
Helen Claire Yeo	Green	274	7.0%
Anne Musker	Labour	73	1.9%

Rusthall & Speldhurst

Ian Standing Lib DemJayne Sharratt LabourMatthew Sankey Tunbridge Wells Alliance

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Lib Dem34.1%

Conservative20.5%

Reform18.7%

Tunbridge Wells Alliance10.1%

Labour9.1%

Green7.5%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Ian William Standing Elected	Lib Dem	1,192	34.1%
David Sumner	Conservative	717	20.5%
Rob Grindley	Reform	655	18.7%
Kit Hawes-Webb	Tunbridge Wells Alliance	352	10.1%
Greg Holder	Labour	317	9.1%
Stephanie Teresa Gandon	Green	264	7.5%

Sherwood

Andrew Wallace Lib DemCourtney Souper Lib DemHugo Pound Labour

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026 (2 seats)

Lib Dem33.7%

Reform23.6%

Conservative18.0%

Green17.7%

Labour7.0%

Candidate	Party	Votes
Courtney Souper Elected	Lib Dem	847
Andrew Wallace Elected	Lib Dem	787
Chris Hoare	Reform	592
Oliver Kinkade	Reform	549
Christian Atwood	Conservative	453
Kate Sergeant	Green	445
Eben Phoebe Lenton	Green	420
Ellis Wiggins	Conservative	384
Tina Kesterton	Labour	176

Party shares count each party's leading candidate.

Southborough & Bidborough

Ash Shukla Lib DemKimberley Johnson Lib DemMark Ellis Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026 (2 seats)

Lib Dem46.4%

Reform20.6%

Conservative18.7%

Green12.5%

English Democrats1.8%

Candidate	Party	Votes
Kimberley Louise Johnson Elected	Lib Dem	1,614
Ash Shukla Elected	Lib Dem	1,531
Stephen Humphreys	Reform	719
Robert Mayall	Reform	675
Richard Long	Conservative	652
Jack Bradley	Conservative	615
Maria Gavin	Green	435
Iqbal Sidhu	Green	280
Aaron James Brand	English Democrats	62

Party shares count each party's leading candidate.

St James'

Ben Chapelard Lib DemGavin Barrass Lib DemRob Wormington Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Lib Dem57.7%

Reform14.3%

Green12.3%

Conservative10.6%

Labour5.1%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Gavin Barrass Elected	Lib Dem	1,478	57.7%
Philip Dwyer	Reform	365	14.3%
Lucy Ann Miller	Green	316	12.3%
George Barr	Conservative	271	10.6%
Nick Maltby	Labour	130	5.1%

St John's

Simon Davidson Lib DemUkonu Obasi Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026

Lib Dem55.5%

Reform15.5%

Green13.5%

Conservative11.7%

Labour3.8%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Ukonu Elisha Obasi Elected	Lib Dem	1,047	55.5%
Chris Pendleton	Reform	293	15.5%
Lewis Patrick Jenkins	Green	254	13.5%
Alexander Lewis-Grey	Conservative	220	11.7%
Lorna Blackmore	Labour	71	3.8%

Last by-election, 30 October 2025

Lib Dem53.3%

Reform15.0%

Green13.5%

Tunbridge Wells Alliance8.9%

Conservative7.6%

Independents for Tunbridge Wells1.7%

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Ukonu Elisha Obasi Elected	Lib Dem	629	53.3%
Chris Hoare	Reform	177	15.0%
Kate Sergeant	Green	160	13.5%
Kit Hawes-Webb	Tunbridge Wells Alliance	105	8.9%
David Sumner	Conservative	90	7.6%
Joe Dore	Independents for Tunbridge Wells	20	1.7%

Next election

Seats up on 6 May 2027

13 of 39 seats are up. Seats held now, by party:

Lib Dem 9 Conservative 2 Labour 1 Other 1

Ward	Councillor whose term ends
Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden	Harry Wormington Lib Dem
Culverden	Martin Brice Lib Dem
Hawkhurst, Sandhurst & Benenden	Beverley Palmer Conservative
High Brooms	Dianne Hill Labour
Paddock Wood	Don Kent Lib Dem
Pantiles	Christopher Hall Lib Dem
Park	Corinna Keefe Lib Dem
Pembury & Capel	Hugh Patterson Lib Dem
Rural Tunbridge Wells	Thomas Mobbs Conservative
Rusthall & Speldhurst	Matthew Sankey Tunbridge Wells Alliance
Sherwood	Andrew Wallace Lib Dem
Southborough & Bidborough	Ash Shukla Lib Dem
St James'	Rob Wormington Lib Dem

Term end dates from Open Council Data.

By-elections

Every council by-election since 2021

5 by-elections since July 2021, 1 of them gains.

Date	Ward	Result	Winner's share
23 September 2026	Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden	Lib Dem gain from Local party	37.4%
30 October 2025	St John's	Lib Dem hold	53.3%
30 October 2025	St Johns	Lib Dem hold	53.0%
1 May 2025	Park	Lib Dem hold	38.4%
1 May 2025	St John's	Lib Dem hold	51.1%

Parliament

Parliamentary constituencies

Constituency	Share of council	2024 winner	Projected now
Tunbridge Wells	91%	Lib Dem	Lib Dem 39%
Weald of Kent	9%	Conservative	Conservative 41%

Share of the council: the proportion of its census neighbourhoods (2021 LSOAs) in each seat. The projection is PollCheck's demographic model at current polling, not a forecast.

People

Who lives in Tunbridge Wells

115,309 residents in 48,220 households

Voted Leave in 2016

45% 7 below GB

Degree or higher

41% 7 above GB

No qualifications

14% 4 below GB

Own their home

65% 4 above GB

Rent from a council or housing association

15% 2 below GB

Rent privately

19% 1 below GB

Aged 15 to 34

26% 5 below GB

Aged 65 and over

24% 2 above GB

GB figure. 2021 Census (Scotland: 2022): age as a share of residents aged 15 and over, qualifications of residents aged 16 and over, housing as a share of households. Leave: 2016 EU referendum, Electoral Commission results by counting area.

Similar

Councils most like this one

West OxfordshireLiberal Democrats / Labour / Green Coalition Windsor and MaidenheadLiberal Democrats (Majority)West BerkshireLiberal Democrats (Majority)BromleyConservative (Majority)Vale of White HorseLiberal Democrats (Majority)

Closest on the measures above: the 2016 Leave vote, age, qualifications and housing. Maps show which party holds each ward.

Sources

Sources and method

Seat totals and control: PollCheck council control tracker. Councillors: Open Council Data (CC BY-SA 4.0). Election results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), with some vote counts from DCLEAPIL, Leman (2025) (CC BY-SA 4.0), and corrections checked against councils' official declarations. Ward boundaries: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Census: Office for National Statistics and National Records of Scotland.

Councillor lists and DCLEAPIL-derived vote counts on this page are available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

In wards electing more than one councillor, a party's share counts only its leading candidate (the Rallings and Thrasher method). Independents count individually. The lead is the gap between the top two parties' shares.