Lib Dems Form Joint Minority Administration On Mid Sussex District Council

The Liberal Democrats have formed a minority administration on Mid Sussex District Council along with 4 of the 5 Independent councillors following the May 2023 election.



MSDC reduced the number of councillors from 54 to 48 this term - the Lib Dems and the four Independents total 24 between them.

There are 18 Conservatives, 4 Green, 1 Labour and 1 Independent councillor outside of the administration.

Members approved Cllr Robert Eggleston (Burgess Hill) to be Leader of the Council with Alison Bennett (Hurstpierpoint) serving as Deputy Leader.



The Cabinet
Cllr Eggleston has named just 5 councillors in his cabinet, 2 less than the previous Conservative administration.

• Cllr Robert Eggleston (Liberal Democrats) Cabinet Member for District Plan, the Burgess Hill Town Centre re-development, and the Burgess Hill Growth Area.
• Cllr Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrats) Cabinet Member for Communities and Communications
• Cllr Ian Gibson (Independent) – Cabinet Member for Sustainable Economy and Housing
• Cllr Anne-Marie Cooke (Liberal Democrats) – Cabinet Member for Finance
• Cllr Chris Hobbs (Liberal Democrats) – Cabinet Member for Leisure and Customer Services

New Chairman and Vice-Chairman
Cllr Rodney Jackson (Hurstpierpoint) was elected to serve as Chairman of the council, with Cllr Janice Henwood (Burgess Hill) as his deputy.

Roles For The Conservatives
The Lib Dems gave a number of roles to councillors outside of the administration, including three prominent positions for the Conservatives - which may disappoint some constituents as nothing came the way of other parties during 2019-23 when the Tories were in control.

Cllr Gary Marsh (Balcombe) was made chairmain of the Planning Committee, Dick Sweatman (East Grinstead) becomes vice-chair of the District Planning Committee, and former MSDC Deputy Leader John Belsey accepted the role of Scrutiny Chairman for Place and Environment.



Two Months Until The First Proper Meeting
Last Wednesday's meeting was a ceremonial affair and the first proper meeting of the full council where the new administration will face questions from councillors and the public will occur on Wednesday 26th July at 7pm.