�鶹Լ��

Both Sussex county councils remain Conservative as the Green Party picks up seats.

The Conservatives secure 61 council seats and 49% of the vote in local elections.

Bob Dale
�鶹Լ�� Live reporter

That's it for our coverage of today's local election results in the south east. Thank you for joining us.

You can get more in-depth analysis of the results on our website.

For Kent, click here.

For updates from East and West Sussex, click here.

And if you want to find out what's happening in Surrey, just click here.

And for a look at the national picture, just go to the main �鶹Լ�� news site here.

The Tories hold Surrey County Council while votes continue for the boroughs and police commissioner.

Amanda Akass
Reporter, �鶹Լ�� South East Today

The Conservatives hold another seat on Surrey County Council.

...and been allowed inside to hear some district council results.

Good news for �鶹Լ�� Surrey's political reporter Jack Fiehn, who has spent the day reporting from a car park outside the venue in Dorking because of Covid restrictions.

One of the closest contests in the region, and also the country, will be in Crawley, where the Conservatives and Labour are going toe to toe.

Labour leader Peter Lamb has words of warning for his party, should they not be able to hold onto this local authority in a key marginal parliamentary constituency.

"We've got to be honest about this, if the result's not good then it shows that we have not yet managed to reconnect with people in the way that we wanted to".

A masked Amanda Akass also covering Surrey, with things running behind at her count.

This has certainly been a set of elections with a difference.

Because of Covid restrictions, �鶹Լ�� Surrey's political reporter Jack Fiehn, who is in Dorking for both the County and Mole Valley district elections, is reporting from a car park outside the venue.

Luckily, it hasn't been raining.

Peter Whittlesea
�鶹Լ�� South East Today reporter

Peter Pragnell, who took the St Helens ward in Hastings for the Conservatives, and is also an East Sussex County Councillor, believes his party's success is down to a change in traditional voting habits.

"Class seems to matter less and less and less, just look at the red wall. We are more similar to some places in the north east and north west, and you've got people who've been ignored for decades and they're fed up, and they like what we are saying".

Tanya Gupta
�鶹Լ�� News

The pandemic has resulted in Covid-secure measures being put in place at counts across the country.

In Redhill, Surrey, counting is taking place in the main gym, spin studio, two dance studios and six squash courts to ensure social distancing at the Donyngs Leisure Centre.

Redhill's returning officer Mari Roberts-Wood said: "We've had to take over the entire building. We normally do it in one room.

"We're ensuring that people are maintaining social distancing and that we are doing this in a safe and yet transparent way for candidates."

The council had faced a "massive" and "all-consuming" effort, Ms Roberts-Wood added.

Read more

Labour's Margi O'Callaghan's Silverhill seat was one of the party's losses in Hastings, passing to the Conservative Lucian Fernando.

Ms O'Callaghan said she was disappointed but hopes the ward's new councillor will continue with some of her work.

"I'm gutted because I live in the area as well, so it's going to be really tricky now walking down the street picking up on the issues," she said.

"There are projects I'll try and continue with, which I'll pass on to my successor."

Amanda Akass
Reporter, �鶹Լ�� South East

An independent, Chris Farr, has won a seat from the Conservatives on Surrey County Council.

Chris Farr won by 1,522 ahead of the Conservatives’ Eithne Monica Webster on 1,312, on a turnout of 40.2%.

The Independents and Oxted and Limpsfield Residents' Association say they are hopeful this will be a sign of strong results to come.

Hastings' new Green councillor Julia Hilton has said, as the lone member of her party on the authority, she wants to help "join the dots".

"There's a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm from local people and it often feels like the council doesn't really listen to them, and I would really like to find ways of us all working together, especially to hit the carbon neutral target that Hastings has declared for 2030".

"I think people were ready for a change, they put their trust in me".

Charlie Rose
Reporter, �鶹Լ�� South East Today

There's tension at the Maidstone Count, as the Liberal Democrat leader of the council Martin Cox faces a recount.

Tanya Gupta
�鶹Լ�� News

The Conservatives have retained several seats on Surrey County Council as votes are counted in the local elections.

The party has gained Camberley West but lost a seat to the Residents' Association in Guildford, with full county council results expected later.

Read more

The Green Party has won its first ever seat on East Sussex County Council.

Georgia Taylor beat the Conservatives' Simon Kirby to take the Forest Row and Groombridge seat with 58% of the vote.

Mr Kirby was standing in his first election since being unseated as Brighton Kemptown MP in 2017.

Fiona Irving
�鶹Լ�� South East Today reporter

The count at Doynings Leisure Centre in Redhill is running two hours behind schedule.

Fifteen seats on Surrey County Council are being contested.

Social distancing regulations mean the count is being held across a series of rooms - the main gym, the spin studio, two dance studios and six squash courts.

Bob Dale
�鶹Լ�� Live reporter

With well over half of Kent County Council's results confirmed, the Conservatives are past the winning post.

Brighton Pavilion Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said there is "nowhere where Greens are not winning seats”.

She cited local election gains in places including Hastings and told the �鶹Լ��: "It's no longer the case that Greens, if it ever was the case, are only winning in places like Brighton and Bristol.

"We are winning all around the country because people like the practical vision that we are bringing to our politics."